Nigerian tourmalines

The tourmaline family consists of at least 14 distinct minerals, but only one, elbaite, accounts for nearly all of the tourmaline gemstones. Tourmaline gems form in a wide range of colors. Although best known in shades of green and red, elbaite can also be blue, purple, yellow, or colorless. Tourmaline can also show several colors in a single crystal, making it possible to cut unique multicolored gems. A suite of 55 tourmaline gemstones, a group pictured here, exhibit a wide range of colors. These tourmaline gems spectacularly demonstrate the range of colors produced from a single mining region in Nigeria and greatly enhance the National Gem Collection.