When people think of tourmaline - one of the October birthstones, they might picture a rich green gemstone or perhaps a vibrant pink. But tourmaline is one of those gemstones that becomes more fascinating the more you discover it.
It comes in an extraordinary range of colours — from soft pastels to vivid greens, electric blues, deep reds and almost every shade in between. Some tourmalines can even display more than one colour within the same crystal.
For a gemstone lover, there is a lot to explore.
What Is Tourmaline?
Tourmaline isn't actually a single gemstone species, but a complex family of related minerals.
Its colours are influenced by its chemical composition, with different elements contributing to the colours we see. Iron, manganese, chromium, vanadium and copper can all play a role, creating the remarkable range of colours that tourmaline is known for.
This is part of what makes tourmaline so interesting: two tourmalines can look completely different from one another while belonging to the same gemstone family.
A Rainbow of Colours
Tourmaline is perhaps best known for its colour.
Green
Carolyn Peppermint Pendant features a mint green tourmaline.
Green tourmaline ranges from soft, fresh greens to deeper forest and bottle greens. Some particularly vivid green tourmalines can be reminiscent of emerald, while others have a softer, more understated character.
Pink & Red
Pink tourmaline can range from delicate blush tones through to intensely saturated hot pinks. Red tourmaline, often referred to as rubellite, can have rich red, raspberry or purplish-red tones.
Blue
Juno Natural Tourmaline Pendant features a greenish blue tourmaline.
Blue tourmaline is particularly sought after, with some stones displaying beautiful teal and blue-green hues. Paraíba tourmaline is perhaps the most famous example, known for its extraordinary neon-like blue, green and turquoise colours.
Yellow & Orange
Yellow and orange tourmalines are less commonly encountered, but can be wonderfully warm and lively. Their colours can range from soft golden yellows to bright orange and peachy tones.
And then there are the stones that don't fit neatly into one category at all.
Colour Within Colour
One of the most charming things about tourmaline is its ability to display more than one colour in a single crystal.
These are known as bi-colour or multi-colour tourmalines, where two or more distinct colours occur naturally within the same stone.
Perhaps the most famous example is the watermelon tourmaline, which can show green around the outside with a pink or red centre.
But the combinations don't stop there.
Pink and green, blue and green, yellow and green — the possibilities are part of the fun. Some stones have clear transitions between colours, while others blend gradually from one shade into another.
Each one tells a slightly different story of how the crystal formed.
Paraíba: The Electric One
No conversation about tourmaline would be complete without mentioning Paraíba.
First discovered in the Brazilian state of Paraíba in the late 1980s, these tourmalines became famous for their intensely vivid blue-to-green colours, often described as neon or electric.
Their colour comes from the presence of copper and manganese, and exceptional examples can be extraordinarily rare.
Today, tourmalines with the characteristic copper-bearing chemistry can be found in other parts of the world too, including Mozambique and Nigeria.
While Paraíba tourmaline is undoubtedly fascinating, it's not the only tourmaline worth looking at.
For us, the appeal of tourmaline lies in the sheer variety of colour and character across the entire family.
What We Love About Tourmaline
Tourmaline feels like a gemstone for people who enjoy discovering something a little unexpected.
There is no single “tourmaline colour”.
One stone might be a soft mint green. Another might be an intense raspberry pink. Another could shift between blue and green, or contain several colours at once.
And natural tourmaline doesn't always have perfectly uniform colour or clarity. Subtle colour zoning, inclusions and variations can all contribute to the individuality of a stone.
Sometimes, those little imperfections are exactly what make a particular tourmaline memorable.
At Atelier Cara, that's often what draws us in.
We're less interested in finding the most predictable version of a gemstone and more interested in finding the stone that makes us stop and look twice.
A Gemstone Full of Possibilities
Tourmaline is one of those gemstones that rewards curiosity.
The more colours you discover, the more you realise there is no single way a tourmaline is supposed to look.
From quiet pastels to vivid neon hues, from single colours to natural colour combinations, each stone has the potential to feel completely different from the next.
And perhaps that's what makes tourmaline so special.
There is always another colour to discover.
Discover our natural gemstone jewellery.
All images taken by Atelier Cara. ©2026 Atelier Cara. All rights reserved.
Gemological references: Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and International Gem Society (IGS).