\u00a9 2020 wikiHow, Inc. All rights reserved. Tourmaline has a prismatic crystal habit and often has obvious striations that parallel the long axis of a crystal. If you are interested in gemstone evaluation and identification either as a hobby or an investment, you need to take classes from a certified gemology instructor in order to get your official certification. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.
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\n<\/p><\/div>"},https://geology.com/minerals/tourmaline.shtml,http://www.geologyin.com/2019/10/crystal-habits-and-forms.html,https://www.minerals.net/mineral/tourmaline.aspx,https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-geology/chapter/outcome-identifying-minerals/,https://geology.com/minerals/tourmaline.shtml#properties,https://sciencing.com/tell-synthetic-pink-tourmaline-8610223.html,https://geology.com/minerals/mohs-hardness-scale.shtml,https://www.lotusgemology.com/index.php/library/articles/452-gem-testing-labs-tips-on-choosing-a-gem-testing-lab-lotus-gemology,https://www.angieslist.com/articles/5-questions-ask-hiring-appraiser.htm,https://www.minerals.net/mineral/schorl.aspx,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuDD2X4EpmE&feature=youtu.be&t=10,https://www.minerals.net/mineral/uvite.aspx,https://www.gia.edu/gia-gem-project-tourmaline,https://www.mindat.org/article.php/836/Advice+for+people+selling+and+sorting+a+mineral+collection,https://www.gemstone.org/education/gem-by-gem/227-paraiba-tourmaline,https://www.gia.edu/tourmaline-quality-factor,https://www.jewelrynotes.com/finding-tourmaline/,consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow.You’ll be able to tell right away whether your specimen is prismatic as opposed to, say, banded, fibrous, geodic, or stalactitic.A typical tourmaline gem will look something like a pencil, with a long, narrow, 6-sided shaft. Paraiba tourmalines are known for their brilliance. The SI values range from less than zero (< 0 SI, Diamagnetic response) to SI 547 (Drag response) for transparent gems, and from SI 773 (Drag response) to SI 990 (Drag response) for opaque gems. If you do, you should expect to pay at least five figures per carat for a high quality stone.Ask about the burning process. Fortunately, taking a close look at a few basic features can often be enough to make you reasonably sure.We know ads can be annoying, but they’re what allow us to make all of wikiHow available for free. By comparison, steel-bladed knives only have a hardness rating of around 5-6.It’s important to use a knife made from solid steel. Tourmaline has a few properties that can aid in its identification. If you are considering buying such a gem, get several objective opinions about the value, price and legitimacy of your gem before you make your purchase.Copyright 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved.http://www.troise.net/photonikblog/photos/lens.jpg, http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/paraiba.html, http://api.ning.com/files/9bRKX8jPp1l1DJc9ct93BSK7Eh6KqZFwHPbDmPQSSMU_/paraiba1.jpg. wikiHow, Inc. is the copyright holder of this image under U.S. and international copyright laws. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please,We use cookies to make wikiHow great. This Uvite above does not fluoresce under longwave UV light, but it does fluoresce weak yellow under shortwave light. It has hard and chunky structure and has visible striations running up and down its body. wikiHow's.Tourmaline is a type of mineral (a crystalline boron silicate, to be exact) formed by intense hydrothermal activity. Tourmaline in particular usually has rounded edges, which means that the lines separating each face will be smooth and faint rather than sharp and angular. However, if you are interested in gemstones mostly as a pleasure pursuit, then continuing your education through your own research and reading on and offline can be a good way to indulge your passion for beautiful and rare rocks. Tourmaline species mix with each other in the same way that Garnet species do. These are idiochromatic species that have transition metals as part of their chemical formulas. This is one of the best ways for a non-expert to identify the possibility that a stone is a Paraiba tourmaline.