Ball bracelet 10mm made of Tourmaline quartz from Brazil.

Tourmaline (quartz) is a group of minerals, all cyclosilicates. The minerals in this group share a characteristic chemical formula: AX3Y6(BO3)3 Si6O18(O, OH, F)4. The A may contain calcium or sodium. The X can consist of aluminum, iron, lithium or magnesium. The Y is normally aluminum, but can also be chrome or iron. There may be some potassium in the A position, manganese can be found in X, and vanadium can be found in Y, but these elements are not commonly found in the formulas of the tourmaline group. Tourmaline occurs in pegmatites, metamorphites, magmatites and alluvial deposits. Although tourmaline was already known in ancient times in the Mediterranean, it was only introduced to Western Europe from Sri Lanka by the Dutch in 1703. They named the new gemstone with a Sinhala word "Turmali", which means "stone of mixed colors". Rubellites were traditionally used as gemstones - they were used by artists as a talisman, because they were said to increase artists' creative powers. Tourmalines have certain unique properties.