Slice up Something Nice and Juicy for Summer

 



On the look out for some cool gemstones that reflect your summer vibe? Just maybe, you'd like to take a look at watermelon tourmaline. This fun-loving duo-colored gemstone looks very much like a cool slice of watermelon.
IS THIS NATURAL?
How'd it get that way you ask? Tourmaline in general is produced in a wild array of popular colors. There's a range of reds, yellows, blues, pinks--which are coveted, green, even black and root beer colored. But this cool jewel also occurs naturally in bi-colored crystals. Some of the double hued stones are green on the exterior and pink on the inside of the crystal. How fun is that?









CUT FOR MAX IMPACT
Clever cutters exploit this fabulous happening and often slice the crystals thin enough to get a good amount of light to come through the stone to optimize the beauty of the colors.

This charming fruit colored tourmaline has inspired designers who make the eye catching tourmaline variety as an integral part of their design process.

 LOOK AROUND
Look for watermelon tourmaline that has clearly defined colors. The most favored specimens actually have a white rind appearance in between the green outer section (the rind!) and the pink watermelon colored interior. Tourmaline is mined in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and California and Maine. Recently some big producers of gem tourmaline are Madagascar, Namibia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Nigeria, and Malawi.

Delicious watermelon tourmaline might just be your signature stone. It's highly individual and the stone has its own magnetism --- you may just want a slice of it in your summer jewelry wardrobe.

watermelon slice image: Igor Schwartzmann

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