Rock Identifier

Rock & Mineral Encyclopedia

Search and identify 1,000+ rocks, minerals, crystals, and gemstones — with properties, formation, colors, hardness, and how to tell them apart.

Purple Tourmaline

Purple Tourmaline

An uncommon purple to violet tourmaline colored by manganese, the deeper reddish-purple stones sometimes called siberite.

gemstone

Canary Tourmaline

The vivid, pure yellow tourmaline marketed as canary, a rare manganese-rich variety from Zambia and Malawi.

gemstone
Violet Tourmaline

Violet Tourmaline

Elbaite tourmaline in violet to purple hues colored by manganese, a relatively scarce and sought-after tourmaline color.

gemstone
Lavender Tourmaline

Lavender Tourmaline

A delicate pale purple elbaite tourmaline in soft lavender and lilac tones, colored by manganese.

gemstone
Green Tourmaline

Green Tourmaline

The green variety of tourmaline, also called verdelite, ranging from bright grass green to deep forest tones colored by iron.

gemstone
Mushroom Tourmaline

Mushroom Tourmaline

A rare mushroom-shaped tourmaline growth habit, typically magnesium-rich dravite/uvite, prized by collectors for its fungus-like cap-and-stem form.

mineral
Clear Tourmaline

Clear Tourmaline

A transparent, water-clear elbaite tourmaline (achroite), the rare colorless and highly transparent form of the tourmaline group.

gemstone
White Tourmaline

White Tourmaline

A colorless to milky-white elbaite tourmaline known as achroite, the rare nearly pigment-free member of the tourmaline group.

gemstone
Orange Tourmaline

Orange Tourmaline

A warm orange to tangerine tourmaline, an uncommon hue produced by manganese and iron in the crystal.

gemstone
Plum Tourmaline

Plum Tourmaline

A purplish, plum-toned elbaite tourmaline colored by manganese, blending the red of rubellite with violet-blue undertones.

gemstone
Cranberry Tourmaline

Cranberry Tourmaline

A deep cranberry-red to purplish-pink variety of lithium-rich elbaite tourmaline, prized as a rich, saturated rubellite gemstone.

gemstone
Paraiba Tourmaline

Paraiba Tourmaline

An intensely glowing copper-bearing tourmaline famed for its electric neon blue-green color and extreme rarity and value.

gemstone
Rose Tourmaline

Rose Tourmaline

A soft to medium pink elbaite tourmaline in rose hues, colored by manganese and prized for romantic jewelry.

gemstone
Mint Tourmaline

Mint Tourmaline

A soft, pastel minty-green tourmaline prized for its fresh, light color, a delicate variety of green elbaite.

gemstone
Yellow Tourmaline

Yellow Tourmaline

Bright yellow to golden tourmaline colored by manganese, with the most vivid canary stones among the rarest tourmaline hues.

gemstone
Black Opal

Black Opal

The rarest and most valuable opal, with a dark body tone that makes its flashing rainbow play-of-color blaze brilliantly.

gemstone
Black Obsidian

Black Obsidian

Jet-black natural volcanic glass formed by rapidly cooled lava, prized for its glassy luster and razor-sharp conchoidal fracture.

igneous

Black Onyx

A solid jet-black chalcedony, usually a dyed and treated agate, prized for sleek polished beads, cabochons, and intaglios.

gemstone
Black Garnet

Black Garnet

An opaque black garnet — typically titanium-bearing melanite andradite — historically cut for mourning and Victorian jewelry.

gemstone
Black Shale

Black Shale

Dark, organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock formed in oxygen-poor waters, often a source rock for oil and gas.

sedimentary
Sherry Tourmaline

Sherry Tourmaline

A warm sherry-brown to orange-brown tourmaline, usually magnesium-rich dravite, named for its rich fortified-wine color.

gemstone
Vanadium Tourmaline

Vanadium Tourmaline

Vanadium-colored tourmaline, including the species vanadium dravite, producing rich emerald-green hues similar to chrome tourmaline.

mineral
Olive Tourmaline

Olive Tourmaline

An earthy olive to yellowish-green tourmaline, a muted green-brown gem variety colored by iron with subtle warm undertones.

gemstone

Mustard Tourmaline

A warm mustard to brownish-yellow tourmaline, colored by iron or manganese, sitting between yellow and brown dravite tones.

gemstone