Collection: Verdelite

Verdelith – the green tourmaline

Around 1500, a Spanish conquistador brought a verdelith from Brazil, believing he had found an emerald. Until the 19th century, it was assumed that this green tourmaline was an emerald. Mineralogists finally identified it as a separate mineral species.

Like rubellite (red) and paraiba (bright turquoise), verdelite belongs to a subgroup of tourmalines known as elbaites.

Variation in color intensity

As with all tourmalines, its color varies depending on the angle from which it is viewed. This effect is also called pleochroism. It gives the appearance of the verdelite glowing from within.

The tourmaline is a biaxial stone, which means it has three colors, depending on the direction of observation. These are usually not very pronounced and can also be three shades of green, or two shades of green and a yellowish green. The sapphire, for example, is uniaxial and shows a maximum of two colors, depending on the direction of observation. Stones that show only one color in all directions of observation (e.g. spinel) are called isotropic in technical jargon.

Use

You can have beautiful pieces of jewelry made from tourmaline. The different green shades, from light green to olive green to dark green, can be combined equally well with gold and silver.

This green variety of tourmaline is particularly popular for earrings, necklaces and bracelets.

Origin

High-quality verdelite comes from the Pala area in San Diego, USA. Emerald-green verdelite comes mainly from Brazil, Namibia and Tanzania.

Most popular cuts

Elbaite often occurs in long crystals, which when cut across look like a rounded triangle. This usually results in elongated cut shapes, such as baguettes, octagons, emeralds or cushion cuts. Rounded verdelite cuts are rare.