Violet Tourmaline

Violet tourmaline is a color variety of elbaite ranging from soft lavender-violet to deep purple. Pure, saturated violet tourmaline is relatively scarce, which makes well-colored stones desirable to collectors and jewelers.

The color arises mainly from manganese, sometimes combined with trace iron or titanium and influenced by natural or applied irradiation. Historically, fine violet-red Siberian tourmaline gave rise to the trade name "siberite."

As with all gem tourmaline, violet stones are strongly pleochroic, which cutters must consider to display the best face-up color.

Violet tourmaline forms in lithium- and manganese-bearing granitic pegmatites. Manganese incorporated during crystal growth produces pink to violet tones, and the precise hue depends on manganese oxidation state, trace elements, and irradiation.

The historic source was the Ural Mountains of Russia (origin of the name siberite); today violet and purple tourmalines come from Brazil, Madagascar, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Afghanistan.

Like other rare-element tourmalines, the best material grows in the chemically evolved pocket zones of these pegmatites.

Violet tourmaline shows violet to purple color, vitreous luster, hardness 7-7.5, strong pleochroism, striated prisms, triangular cross-section, no cleavage, and visible doubling of back facets from high birefringence.

Pleochroism and birefringence distinguish it from singly refractive stones. Tube and fracture inclusions are common.

Look-alikes include amethyst, purple sapphire, iolite, and kunzite; iolite shows blue-violet/yellow pleochroism but lower hardness and different optics, amethyst lacks doubling, and sapphire is much harder and singly refractive in the relevant tests.

Violet tourmaline is faceted for rings, pendants, and earrings, prized for its uncommon purple hue and the affordability of tourmaline relative to violet sapphire. Saturated, eye-clean stones bring the highest prices.

Fine crystals are collected as specimens. Metaphysically, violet and purple tourmalines are associated with the crown and third-eye chakras, intuition, and spiritual connection, traditional beliefs rather than scientific properties.