I was sitting at the computer and thinking about how to show off tourmaline in a simple post. I decided to grab a rainbow of droplets of color. I call small rounds that have no real claim to fame except their color droplets of color. The following is certainly not the best in each color, that will have to come with some study and maybe a few new pictures. None of these pictures have been color corrected and the Canon Rebel isn’t perfect. Other shades and levels of tone will follow because small rounds are the name of the game when it comes to showing off the exceptional range of color in our favorite gemstone. Size really doesn’t mater in this show, though the magnification produced by the camera is quite revealing of their flaws.
PURPLE
This standard round brilliant has a saturated purple hue and a medium tone. It is cuprian from Mozambique. It is included, but that is common with purple which is a very rare color in tourmaline. It weighs 1.08 carats and is a droplet of color.
BLUE
This standard round brilliant has a very flat crown to try and lighten it. It only flashes around the girdle because of the lack of transparency of the c axis. It has an excellent blue color and weighs .86 carats, It has been accepted by the droplets of color.
GREEN
Rich green, small round droplet of color
YELLOW
This standard round brilliant droplet of color shines in any droplet group. It is included, but it is a small price for this rare color and tone level and saturation level. It weighs .89 carats.
ORANGE
This standard round brilliant has a medium tone level and is eye clean. Its two dichroic colors are a bright orange and a pastel orange. It weighs.83 carats.
RED
This standard round brilliant has a complex mixture of darker orange brown and red. It appears to be eye clean and reasonably bright for a darker stone. It weighs 1.12 carats. Definitely droplet material.
Bruce
