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Tourmaline
Coined as the American Gem in 1892, tourmaline is known for its vast array of intense colors and can be found in Maine and California. Due to the copious colors of tourmaline, often the stone was mistaken for other gems, including ruby, sapphire, and emerald. In fact the name tourmaline derives from the Sri Lankan word toramalli, meaning "mixed gems", It was not until the development of modern mineralogy in the 1800s, that tourmaline was classified as its own stone with a unique mineral composition. Today some the most rare and intense colored tourmaline hails from Brazil and are called Paraiba tourmaline.
