Just how many kinds of tourmaline are there?
There are several main types: schorl, dravite and elbaite. The colors can range from pale pink and blue to black, and include the pink and green banded variety you may have heard called “watermelon.” A single specimen may show an amazing range of colors. Schorl is black or very dark and contains iron; dravite is brown and contains magnesium. Elbaite contains lithium and sodium, and comes in a range of colors, including green (verdelite), yellow, red to pink (rubellite), and blue (indicolite). Rarely, tourmaline may be white or even colorless (achroite). San Diego County has produced gem-quality tourmalines for many years.
