How much does tourmaline cost? Learn about the tourmaline market in one article

Tourmaline is a gemstone, and gemstones are non-standardized products from nature. No two tourmalines are exactly alike, so the differences between individual stones are very large. Anyone who wants to buy tourmaline or collect and invest in tourmaline needs to study more. Never pay investment-collector-level prices for ordinary consumer-wear tourmaline, or you will lose a lot. Let's take a look at how much tourmaline costs!

Variety and price

Tourmaline comes in many colors, including red, pink, blue, green and yellow, and prices vary greatly among different colors of tourmaline. The top-grade type is a blue tourmaline called Paraiba, and high-quality stones cost more than 20,000 US dollars per carat. Next is red tourmaline; high-quality red tourmaline (true red, also called peach red) costs 3,000 to 4,000 yuan per carat, and stones with high clarity may cost even more. Among green tourmalines there is a type containing the element chromium, with a rich emerald green color like Colombian emerald, but with higher clarity than emerald, and it is very expensive. In addition, a very rare yellow tourmaline that is very popular internationally also commands a high price; it is called canary yellow tourmaline, is extremely rare, and is sought after by the market.

Color and price

The best tourmaline colors are rose red, purplish red, green and pure blue, as well as the parti-color watermelon color; pink and yellow are next, while colorless and black are the lowest. Within the same color, it is further divided into 4 grades according to the depth and vividness of the color: vivid, medium, light, and dark. In addition, the more colors a single crystal has, the better, such as bicolor tourmaline, tricolor tourmaline, and so on.

Clarity and price

The cleaner the clarity of tourmaline, the more expensive it is, especially red tourmaline, because the coloring element of red tourmaline is the element manganese, but this is also the cause of inclusions in red tourmaline. Generally, clean red tourmaline is very rare. If the size and color are the same, clean tourmaline will be relatively much more expensive. Tourmaline is required to be crystal clear; the more transparent, the better the quality, and it should not have an obvious misty look or be opaque. In some tourmaline crystals, there are many needle-like inclusions that produce a cat's eye effect, and this effect appears mostly in green tourmaline. Whenever this cat's eye effect appears in tourmaline, its value will increase somewhat, but the key to evaluation still lies in the vividness of its color, its transparency and the size of the piece, and also the color-change effect. Tourmaline with obvious color change is very rare, and therefore its value is very high, making it a collection target for collectors.

Weight and price

The weight of tourmaline is also a main factor affecting price; the larger, the more valuable. For tourmaline of the same quality, color and clarity, the larger the stone, the higher the price.

Cut and price

The workmanship examines tourmaline carvings and bead strands, and the level of the appearance-polishing craft. For tourmaline ring faces, by contrast, the main assessment is the cut of the surface; the cut should be regular, the proportions symmetrical, and the polish good. Otherwise it will affect the value.

Origin and price

Or rather, the place of origin. The traditional high-quality place of origin is Brazil. In recent years, Africa has also produced tourmaline with very good colors, especially some rare varieties, such as Paraiba and canary yellow tourmaline.