Tourmalines from Madagascar

Mother Nature blesses Madagascar with so many different gemstones, and its tourmalines too are among the world’s finest. Demand for these beautiful gemstones, particularly pink tourmalines, is increasing rapidly, thanks to Chinese buyers who appreciate them more and more.

Madagascar tourmalines can be some of the world’s most gorgeous – however, they are often the hardest to find for sale. This is due to various reasons: a series of bureaucratic hurdles which make exporting the gems from Madagascar a time-consuming process; a small number of dealers who export; as well as the primitive methods of extraction. This means that tourmalines from Madagascar are few and far between. Most jewelry-quality tourmalines come from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

All varieties of tourmaline are found in Madagascar. Tourmalines come in a range of colors due to mineral impacts: blue (due to bivalent iron), pink and red (due to manganese), green (chromium and vanadium) and brown (trivalent iron). Madagascar tourmalines are especially admired for their deep hues.

Tourmaline is the gemstone of love and of friendship, and is said to render them firm and long-lasting. Chinese also believe in wearing natural tourmalines to improve the blood circulation and to release back pains. During the Manchu Dynasty in China, members of the Mandarin class wore round buttons made of red tourmaline, distinguishing themselves from other classes of citizens. Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi was so fascinated by tourmaline’s beauty and color that she had over one ton of these precious gem stones (shipped from California mines) in her royal collection.