Judging quality
The best slices are thin, translucent and cleanly zoned with a distinct boundary. Look for polished faces free of pits and complete rims rather than broken arcs.
Tourmaline
Watermelon Tourmaline
Tourmaline zoned with a pink core and green rind, sliced across the prism to show the fruit-like cross-section that gives it its name.
Care
Brittle in thin slices. Handle by the edges; never ultrasonic.
History & lore
Maine's Mount Mica, worked since 1820, was the first commercial gem tourmaline mine in the United States.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Watermelon Tourmaline
- What is Watermelon Tourmaline?
- Tourmaline zoned with a pink core and green rind, sliced across the prism to show the fruit-like cross-section that gives it its name.
- How hard is Watermelon Tourmaline and what is it made of?
- Watermelon Tourmaline is a Tourmaline-family mineral with the composition Complex borosilicate. It crystallizes in the trigonal system and rates 7-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in pink, green.
- Where does Watermelon Tourmaline come from?
- Notable localities for Watermelon Tourmaline include Brazil, Madagascar, Afghanistan, USA (Maine).
- How do you tell good Watermelon Tourmaline from filler?
- The best slices are thin, translucent and cleanly zoned with a distinct boundary. Look for polished faces free of pits and complete rims rather than broken arcs.
- How do you care for Watermelon Tourmaline?
- Brittle in thin slices. Handle by the edges; never ultrasonic.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.