Indicolite Tourmaline is the blue variety of the Elbaite mineral species which belongs to the cyclosilicate tourmaline family. Tourmaline is a group of closely related minerals rather than a single species. Indicolite Tourmaline colors range from a deep indigo blue to neon light blue and bluish green. Often Elbaite crystals form in bicolor crystals  and can be classified as both Indicolite and Verdelite for instance, the green variety of Elbaite. Indicolite was named in 1800 by a prestigious Brazilian mineralogist. It is a combination of the French word ’Indigo’ and the Greek word ‘lithos’, meaning stone.

Indicolite tourmaline forms in igneous and metamorphic rock veins and granite pegmatites. The crystals can be strongly pleochroic, meaning, especially after faceting into a gemstone, they can exhibit different color shades when viewed from different angles and in different lighting conditions. Like all Tourmaline species, Indicolite forms in the trigonal crystal system and usually grow in prismatic crystals, often with a striated texture that runs parallel with the length of the crystal. It is a durable mineral with a hardness of 7.5 Mohs.

High quality Indicolite gemstones with good clarity and rich color are the most expensive variety of Tourmaline. The fabled Paraiba tourmaline variety of Indicolite from Paraiba, Brazil are the most valuable by far. They have a bright neon indigo blue color caused by trace amounts of copper in their atomic structure. Other notable localities for Indicolite Tourmaline are Nigeria, USA (Maine & California), Namibia and Madagascar.

The family of closely related mineral species called Tourmaline is the most dynamic of all gemstones. From solid black crystals like Schorl, to incredibly transparent crystals, Tourmaline literally forms in every color shade one could imagine. Not only does it dynamically form in every possible color shade, it also often forms in bicolor, tricolor crystals as well in mosaic crystal patterns which are best exhibited after slicing the crystals into cross-section plates.  This dynamic gemstone family has a long legacy throughout many ancient cultures, and because of its myriad of color shades, it has also been confused with other gems in the past. Stunning Green Tourmalines were mistakenly identified as Emerald, Rubellite Pink Tourmalines were thought to be Rubies, and the list goes on. The modern name for the mineral group Tourmaline, comes from the Sinhalese words ‘tura’ and ‘mali’, meaning stone of many colors.

According to the ancient Egyptians Tourmaline passed through a rainbow on its journey from the sun, taking on all the colors of the rainbow before finding its resting place deep within the earth.

For many centuries, the piezoelectric properties of Tourmaline was well recognized. In the 1700’s Dutch sailors were the first tradesmen to bring Tourmalines to Europe’s shores from Sri Lanka and the called the stone ‘Aschetrekker’, meaning ‘ash pullers. The electric polarization within Tourmaline crystals made them a perfect tool to pull the ash from their tobacco pipes when cleaning them. Tourmaline rose to popularity in China, due to the last empress Tzu Hsi love of the stone. She had a huge collection of fine jewelry made with Tourmaline gemstones.

It wasn’t until the late 20th century that Tourmaline began to see a huge rise in popularity within the gem world. New discoveries of Rubellite, Green Tourmaline and Indicolite specimens in Brazil led to a new found obsession with this dynamic gem family. Later, important deposits of Tourmaline were discovered in Namibia, Madagascar and older localities such as those in Maine and California found larger demand in the market place. Today, Tourmaline is incredibly popular and the value of quality gemstones continues to rise.