Tourmaline is a large group of more than thirty different minerals.
They all share a common crystal structure, but their chemical composition is not the same.
The most common variety of tourmaline is schorl, followed by Elbaite.
Schorl is an iron-rich black variety, while elbaite comes in many colours.
Watermelon tourmaline is a variety of elbaite. Quartz included with tourmaline is known as tourmalinated quartz.
Tourmaline is piezoelectric which means it emits an electrical charge when exposed to mechanical pressure.
Although tourmaline can be found in many countries around the world, the largest mines are in Brazil.
The mineral tourmaline is relatively hard but also brittle, so it fractures easily.
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