Super lot of Deep Canary Yellow to Golden Yellow Tourmaline faceting rough from Nigeria. Please note that we received this material mixed in with a multi-color Tourmaline lot we recently purchased and it was stated to be Tourmaline. We had our doubts and that is the reason we separated it from the rest of the parcel. We were able to gleam an RI off of two stones confirming the material as Tourmaline; however, we were not able to test each stone and therefore are not 100% sure that every stone is Tourmaline! Here is the interesting thing on the parcel, all stones except 4 seem to possess Chromium and show up as being a light Pink under a Chelsea Filter. The other four stones stick out as a bit odd in the parcel as they are the most saturated and may actually be a different stone but none seemed to possess a flat enough area to take an RI - Sorry! Our reasonable conclusion is that all the stones except the 4 are probably definitely Tourmaline whereas the 4 odd balls are up in the air!

This is mix of mostly medium to high facet grade material with the bulk of the lot capable of cutting eye-clean to slightly included with a little hard work. We anticipate most stones will be very slightly included at best but that will depend on the cutter's yield preferences and skill. Many stones do have minor inclusions; however, this material is very gemmy and the price we have on this makes it a must have!

1. Nigeria has steadily risen to be a powerhouse country for Tourmaline production and is now set to eclipse many traditional sources in sheer volume of material. Overall Nigerian material, like most African material, has the brownish overtones, darker colors and lacks the vibrancy and life that Afghan (and some Namibian and Nigerian) Tourmaline is known for; however, many Nigerian and African stones can cut beautiful finished gems that rival Afghan material. From my experience I don't think quality is even questionable as I still haven't seen any Tourmaline Floor me like the Best Afghani material in its natural crystal form! Afghan Tourmaline can cost an arm and a leg and Nigerian material is a great affordable substitute for everyone to have fun faceting some Tourmaline.