Elbaite Tourmaline

Elbaite is a multicolored form of tourmaline and is perhaps the most multicolored mineral on Earth. It has been discovered in virtually every color of the spectrum and has dramatically increased in popularity since the 1990s. While specimens are commonly faceted into gemstones, most high quality crystals are left as is or are cut and sold as cross-sectional slices. Elbaite forms as short, stubby and/or elongated prismatic crystals with striations that run along their lengths. Elbaite aggregates can occur as botryoidal, columnar or radial crystals and as compact masses.