Rui Galopim de Carvalho’s Post

Science uses technical terminology to unambiguously describe materials whereas the jewellery trade used terminology to describe products and the World Jewellery Confederation - CIBJO is in the middle making sure the consumer gets a fair communication from the trade by recommending nomenclature practices as published in the CIBJO Gemstone Book. Rubellite is one of those trade terms and refers the pink to red-coloured tourmalines that have a distinct manganese-related pink to red colour in both daylight and incandescent light. Note that the term has the same Latin origin than ruby! Technically, tourmaline is not strictly a mineral but rather a complex supergroup that includes a few mineral species with gemmological interest and in the case of pink, three have been reported: elbaite (the most common), fluor-liddicoatite and rossmanite. Irradiation of pale pink tourmaline, oxidizing Mn2+ to Mn3+ and causing vivid pink to red colour, is a common trade practice being currently a non-determined treatment since the artificial irradiation-induced colour it is virtually indistinguishable from the natural irradiation-induced pink to red colour. The longtime colour-based verbal tradition have kept mineralogical terms away from the trade lexicon where a simple “pink tourmaline” or “rubellite” will do the job. In the image, iconic Cartier panther on a ring featuring pink tourmalines as well as onyx, emeralds and diamonds © Cartier #tourmaline #jewelry #gemstones #luxury #minerals