Mineral supergroup and trade varieties
Tourmaline contains multiple species. Color names do not establish species or copper content; Paraíba designation is not a blanket origin certificate.
Keep each chapter’s scientific identity: a family, species, variety, trade label, rock and fossil are different kinds of names.
Mineral group / trade name
Black tourmaline often shows long, strongly lined crystals. A specimen preserves that growth texture, while a polished bead gives the material a quieter, reflective surface.
Shannon Heinle · CC0 · Display crop
Mineral group / trade name
Pink tourmaline brings delicate rose through stronger pink-red tones to beads and cut gems. Natural color variation can remain visible within one crystal.
Shannon Heinle · CC0 · Display crop
Quartz with tourmaline inclusions
The host is quartz and the dark inclusions are described as tourmaline. Needle shape or black color alone is not enough to identify each inclusion; rutile-bearing quartz is a different description.
Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display crop
Color-zoned tourmaline / trade variety
A pink-red interior and green outer region inspire the name. Color zoning does not establish a species or prove a natural untreated origin; elbaite is common but not inferred from color alone.
Madereugeneandrew (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Display crop
Red-pink tourmaline / trade variety
Rubellite is a red to pink tourmaline color term, not ruby corundum. A vivid trade description should be paired with identification and treatment information.
Robert M. Lavinsky · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Display crop
Tourmaline color variety
Green tourmaline can involve different compositions. “Verdelite” is a color name, while chromium-bearing material and ordinary green tourmaline require analytical distinctions.
Ivar Leidus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display crop
Blue tourmaline / trade variety
Indicolite is a blue tourmaline color term. Blue color alone does not establish copper content or make a gem Paraíba tourmaline.
Géry PARENT · CC0 · Display crop
Copper-bearing tourmaline / gem trade designation
The designation concerns qualifying copper-bearing tourmaline, not merely a bright blue color. It is not a guarantee of Brazilian origin; chemistry, identification and origin are separate report questions.
DonGuennie (G-Empire The World Of Gems) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Display crop