Have you wondered how to price your tourmaline gems? So have I, and recently a colleague and I travelled to Toronto and New York’s jewellery district to seek out how much we could buy tourmaline gemstones for at wholesale prices. It turns out, the answer was not so simple. Coming to a price on any gemstone is like valuing a piece of art. One must take in its color, cut, clarity, and carat weight.
As you get familiar with how these ‘4 C’s‘ apply to Tourmaline, you can only then start formulate a price for them. When it comes to Tourmaline, the 4 c’s apply differently than in diamonds. When pricing your Tourmaline gems color and carat weight have the most sway in pricing rather than clarity and cut. This is because Tourmaline’s are often included with many little liquid and hair like inclusions called ‘trichites‘. This is especially true when dealing with rubellite tourmaline aka. tourmaline stones with medium to strong vivid red, purple, and pink hues.
Much like emerald, when you have these inclusions it’s not a deal breaker. In some cases, people may even like them as they tell a story of how the stone was formed.
Tourmaline Prices Vary By Country
When pricing your tourmaline gems you’ll also have to factor in your market where you are purchasing them in. I wrote this handy guide with Canadian and American prices in mind. However if you move over to Europe or Brazil you’ll notice slight fluctuations.
Pricing Your Tourmaline Changes with Treatments:
Tourmaline’s complex chemical makeup makes it a chemical soup that’s hard to synthesize. When buying tourmaline you don’t have to worry about synthetics, but you do have to worry about heat treatments. Tourmaline is commonly heated to around 700C to enhance it’s color. Heat treatment in tourmaline is considered a stable treatment and I am creating the pricing chart below with the assumption these stones have all been heated to some degree.
Irradiation in Tourmaline
One must also consider that Tourmaline can be irradiated. Irradiated Tourmaline is usually Pink and Hot Pink colors with very good consistency. Color consistency is not a conclusive test so it’s important to know where your gems are sourced from too. With a higher likely hood of irradiated tourmaline coming from Brazil or Thailand according this this Gemology forum post.
Premium Tourmaline Colors and Trade Names
In the world of tourmaline buying you will come across many different trade names describing certain colors of this stone. These trade names demand higher prices, but its on you to understand if they really deserve them. There are many of these names out there, but in this article we will focus on the the big 3 you will encounter. These are:
| Trade Name | Description |
| Chrome Tourmaline | – Vivid Neon Green Color – Colored by Chromium |
| Rubellite Tourmaline | – Any Tourmaline with a pink, red, purplish red, orangy red, or brownish red color – Some argue that the term shouldn’t apply to pink tourmaline. – Colored by Manganese |
| Paraiba Tourmaline | – Neon Blue to Swimming Pool Blue Color – Colored by Copper and Boron – Can range from Blue to Green – Considered ‘Paraiba’ but as long as it’s copper bearing. |
Approximate Wholesale Values per Carat when Pricing Your Tourmaline
Now that you understand the basics of the Tourmaline world, it’s time to talk about the numbers. These figures have been formulated from June 2025 and are subject to change. They are rough estimates and will be updated regularly. If you see any discrepancies, please email me at infojajagems(at)gmail.com.
Please note the chart assumes:
- USD Prices
- US Market
- No Treatment
- Eye-Clean Tourmaline Clarity
- Fine – Quality ‘Gem Guide’
| Type of Tourmaline (Down) & Intensity (Across) | ||||
| Green Tourmaline | Pale Greens | Deep Greens | Chrome | |
| 0-1 cts: $40/ct | 0-1 cts: $60ct | 0-1 cts: $150/ct | ||
| 1-5cts: $50-60/ct | 1-5cts: $50-90/ct | 1-5cts: $300-500/ct | ||
| +5cts: $245 – 300/ct | +5cts: $500 – 700/ct | +5cts: $630 – $1100/ct | ||
| Blue Tourmaline | Minty Blue | Deep Blues | Indicolite Blue | Paraiba |
| 0-1cts: $75/ct | 0-1cts: $50-100/ct | 0-1cts: $50-100/ct | 0-1cts: $500-1,500/ct | |
| 1-5cts: $300-400/ct | 1-5cts: $150-175/ct | 1-5cts: $80 – $150/ct | 1-5cts: $4000/ct + | |
| +5cts: $600-800/ct | +5cts: $200-350/ct | +5cts: $800 – $900/ct | +5cts: $10,000-50,000+/ct | |
| Orange | Pale Orange | Medium Orange | Deep Orange | |
| 0-1cts: $30-60/ct | 0-1cts: $60-120/ct | 0-1cts: $100 – 160/ct | ||
| 1-5cts: $60-120/ct | 1-5cts: $120-200/ct | 1-5cts: $200-330/ct | ||
| +5cts: $120-200/ct | +5cts: $200-330/ct | +5cts: $330-500+/ct | ||
| Yellow-Golden (Dravite) | Pale Dravite | Medium Dravite | Vivid Dravite | |
| 0-1cts: $15/ct | 0-1cts: $25 – 50/ct | 0-1cts: $60-100/ct | ||
| 1-5cts: $20 – 40/ct | 1-5cts: $120-180/ct | 1-5cts: $250 – 300+/ct | ||
| +5cts: $60-80/ct | +5cts: $200 – 300/ct | +5cts: 400+/ct | ||
| Rubellite Tourmaline | Pale Rubellite | Medium Rubellite | Vivid Rubellite | |
| 0-1cts: $15-20$/ct | 0-1cts: $40-60/ct | 0-1cts: $70-120/ct | ||
| 1-5cts: $50-90/ct | 1-5cts: $150-250/ct | 1-5cts: $250 – 400/ct | ||
| +5cts: $100-150/ct | +5cts: $200 – 300/ct | +5cts: $350 – 550/ct | ||
| Pink Tourmaline | Pale Pinks | Medium Pinks | Vivid Pinks | |
| 0-1cts: $26/ct | 0-1cts: $75/ct | 0-1cts: $140/ct | ||
| 1-5cts: $55/ct | 1-5cts: $155/ct | 1-5cts: $185/ct | ||
| +5cts: $100-200/ct | +5cts: $300/ct | +5cts: $315 – 500/ct | ||
Buy Tourmaline at Jaja Gems
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