Brazil has been the world’s leading source of tourmaline for nearly 500 years. In the 1500s Portuguese explorers obtained green and blue tourmaline from indigenous people and from panning streams in search of gold. They thought that these colorful stones were emeralds and sapphires and sent them back to Portugal, where they were cut into gems and used to make jewelry for royalty and wealthy citizens. (Tourmaline was not recognized as a distinct mineral until 1793.)

Beginning in the late 1800s, a steady stream of tourmaline discoveries have been made in the pegmatite deposits of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Since then, millions of carats of tourmaline have been produced in a wide range of colors, including much bicolor material. This diverse stream of tourmaline from Brazil has been the most important source for the worldwide gem and jewelry market.

The first commercial gemstone mine in the United States followed an 1821 discovery of tourmaline near the town of Paris, Maine. Over the past 200 years, significant amounts of pink and green tourmaline have been produced from dozens of Maine localities.

The most important source of tourmaline in the United States has been the tourmaline mines of southern California. Tourmaline has been mined there since the late 1800s. On the basis of cumulative dollar value, tourmaline has been the most important gem material mined in California. Most of this production occurred over 100 years ago in Riverside and San Diego Counties. Tons of red tourmaline was mined there and shipped to China, where it was used to make snuff bottles, carvings, jewelry and many other items. Today, a little tourmaline is being produced by small-scale mining. The miners today sell much of their best production as mineral specimens.

Today, discoveries of tourmaline of various kinds are made in Afghanistan, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, the United States and other countries. These provide the market with a constantly changing supply of gem tourmaline and mineral specimens.