Tourmaline Tourmaline is a very special family of gemstones : it is one of the only gemstones in the world that occurs naturally in every color , sometimes even containing two colors in one stone . Ancient Egyptians believed that the tourmaline passed through a rainbow on its way up through earth , and thus was blessed with all the colors . Certain kinds of tourmaline are very rare and expensive , such as the Paraiba tourmaline found in Brazil , while others are common and affordable . The Family of tourmalines : RubeliteRubelites are the tourmalines that come in very saturated colors of hot pink , magenta and red . Fine rubelites are among the most prized tourmalines . Pink TourmalinePinks that are too pale to be rubelite are simply called pink tourmalines . Orange TourmalineOrange tourmaline is very unusual and rare , but it does exist . The most common hues tend toward peach . Orange tourmaline gemstones will usually have overtones of either yellow , pink or brown . Yellow tourmalinePure , saturated yellow tourmaline is very rare . It is sometimes called “ Canary tourmaline . ” More common hues are pale yellow and greenish yellow . Green TourmalineGreen tourmaline is one of the most common colors for this gemstone . The most typical color is a dark , forest green . Though green tourmalines are reletavily inexpensive , when the green is caused by chrome , the color becomes a rich emerald green and is quite valuable . Paraiba TourmalineParaiba tourmalines are named after the region of Brazil where they are found and mined . They are famous and extremely valuable for their electric hues of teal , aqua and blue . These are some of the most valuable stones in the world today . IndicoliteThese are the tourmaline gemstones that are a pure , traditional blue . They tend to be a cool , greenish blue and are more often dark than pale . Purple tourmalineA purely purple tourmaline is pretty much unheard of . Rubelites can have lilac shades , but until recently truly purple was not one of the colors available in tourmaline . A small and rare deposit was found a few years ago in Mozambique . Many of these stones are heat treated to turn them electric teal and sell as “ Paraiba . ” They are mostly stones for collectors and connisseurs . Black TourmalineThis is one of the most common colors of tourmaline . Very large specimen pieces ( 2 ″ - 3 ″) are commonly available . However , it is rarely transparent and is not often used as a gem . Colorless TourmalineColorless or “ white ” tourmaline is also available . It is rare to find them , but they are not too expensive . Since the most prized feature of tourmalines is their rich colors , the colorless variety is really only popular with collectors . Bi - Color TourmalineOne of the special characteristics of tourmaline is its wide color range . Another is its pleochroism . These two characteristics make it possible for tourmaline gemstones to contain two ( or even 3 ) colors in one single gemstone . Watermelon TourmalineBi - color tourmalines in which one color is green and the other is pink or red are called “ watermelon tourmalines ” . These are very popular and revered by gemstone and jewelry connisseurs . They are used both faceted and scliced . Lowest Value : This tourmaline cabochon has very poor clarity and very dull , dark color . Its one redeeming feature is its large size . ( over 7 carats ) Low Value : These beads have very nice , strong attractive colors . However , their poor clarity and small size detract from their value considerably . Medium Value : This peice of tourmaline is very clear , well cut and with a lovely intense color . It is not exceptionally valuable because green is a very common color of tourmaline and is therefore , not very high priced . High Value : This tourmaline is perfectly clear , well cut and has a bright intense beautiful pink color . This color of tourmaline is quite rare .