Maine Tourmaline in Handmade Jewelry

by Laurie Lynn of Beryllina

Just yesterday I finished handcrafting another round of jewelry for the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum (MMGM), which will be opening in Bethel, Maine later this year. The tourmaline that the MMGM sent me to work with is so beautiful! These were all mined at the same quarry, the Dunton Mine in Newry, Maine. The Dunton Mine sits on Plumbago Mountain, and is a beautiful place that I had the great pleasure of visiting in 2013. The view from the mine was spectacular!

Here's what tourmaline looks like "in matrix", aka in the host rock where it grows. This is black tourmaline, also called "schorl". Pink tourmaline is also called "rubellite" and blue tourmaline is also called "indicolite". Pink tourmaline with a green tourmaline outer layer is called "Watermelon Tourmaline"!

I'm looking forward to spring when the ground thaws and it will be time to go mining again. Maine has a lot to offer, including beautiful gemstones, don't you think?