Burgundy Tourmaline

Burgundy tourmaline is a trade name for deep wine-red to maroon elbaite tourmaline, a darker-toned relative of rubellite and red tourmaline. Its rich, brooding color resembles red wine, giving it the name.

The color comes mainly from manganese, with deeper tones reflecting higher manganese content and the influence of natural or applied irradiation. The most saturated, stable red stones in this family are commonly marketed as rubellite.

Like other red-pink tourmalines, burgundy stones are strongly pleochroic and prized for their warm, jewel-like depth.

Burgundy tourmaline forms in lithium- and manganese-rich granitic pegmatites, where manganese incorporated during crystal growth produces pink to red coloration; deeper, wine-red tones reflect higher manganese and specific oxidation conditions.

Classic sources include Brazil, Madagascar, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Afghanistan. The best material grows in the chemically evolved pocket zones where rare elements concentrate.

Irradiation, natural or laboratory, often intensifies and stabilizes the red component, a treatment widely accepted in the tourmaline trade.

Burgundy tourmaline is identified by deep wine-red to maroon color, vitreous luster, hardness 7-7.5, strong pleochroism, striated prismatic habit, triangular cross-section, no cleavage, and visible doubling of back facets from high birefringence.

Pleochroism and birefringence distinguish it from singly refractive look-alikes; tube and fracture inclusions are common.

Look-alikes include garnet (rhodolite, almandine), red spinel, and ruby; garnet and spinel are singly refractive and lack tourmaline's pleochroism and doubling, while ruby is much harder and shows different optics.

Burgundy tourmaline is faceted into rings, pendants, and earrings, valued for a deep, romantic wine color that pairs well with both yellow and white metals. Clean, well-saturated stones overlapping with fine rubellite command the highest prices.

It is also collected as crystals and specimens. Metaphysically, deep red tourmalines are associated with the root and heart chakras, passion, vitality, and grounding, traditional beliefs rather than scientific facts.