Emerald Cutting Advice For Green Tourmaline And Rubellite

Dark green tourmaline and red rubellite gems can look very black in an emerald cut. Learn how to minimize this effect and show off these rich colors best.

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HomeLearning CenterJewelry and LapidaryQuestions About Lapidary and Jewelry MakingEmerald Cutting Advice For Green Tourmaline And Rubellite
By International Gem Society
Tourmaline is a gemstone mineral family that includes many species. Elbaite is one of the most common. This beautiful specimen shows pink and green color zoning.
Tourmaline is a mineral family that includes many species. Elbaite is one of the most common. This beautiful specimen shows pink and green color zoning. "Bi-Colored Elbaite Gem" by greyloch is licensed under CC By-SA 2.0

Question

Do you have any recommendations for faceting green tourmaline and rubellite gemstones into emerald cuts?

Answer

Make sure you keep the end facets on the pavilion as steep as possible. 70° is good. Even if the tourmaline stone doesn't have a dark C axis, it tends to look black in the finished gem. Keeping them steep minimizes this.

You can find examples of emerald-cut green tourmalines and red rubillites in our Gemstone Gallery, like this 2.12 ct. blue-green tourmaline from Congo and this 3.88 ct. rubellite from Nigeria.

Donald Clark, CSM IMG

A variety of faceted tourmaline on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
Varieties of faceted tourmaline on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. "Tourmaline or Elbaite" by Public.Resource.Org is licensed under CC By 2.0
Rubellite is a variety of dark pink to red tourmaline. Stones with ruby red color are highly valued.
Rubellite is a variety of dark pink to red tourmaline. Stones with ruby red color are highly valued. "Elbaite with Rubellite 01" by Tim Evanson is licensed under CC By-SA 2.0

International Gem Society

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