Small piece of elbaite tourmaline on quartz. Mineral Collection - Height: 3.2 cm - Width: 2.7 cm- 28 g - (1)

Tourmalines are a group of minerals belonging to the silicate class, order of cyclosilicates. The name derives from the Sinhalese 'turmali' which literally means 'mixed cargo' or stone of various colors, and in the past it referred to the name of the crystals brought to Europe from Ceylon. The crystal belongs to the trigonal system; it is prismatic, very elongated, vertically striated, and sometimes with unequal development at the two ends of the vertical axis. Its color depends on its chemical composition and may not be uniform within the crystal.