Synonym: Aphrite; Apyrite; Rubelite; Rubylite.
Name: after the Latin word for red.
Clades:
Tourmaline; Elbaites; rarest gem in Elbaites.
Region: Afghanistan, Brazil,
Madagascar, Myanmar, Nigeria, Russia, United States.
Chemical: A(D3)G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z.
Colour: red, pink, pinkish, violet-red.
MineralogyRubellite is the red or pink variety of
Tourmaline.
It is occasionally mistaken for ruby.
Rubellite is a
Lithium rich and more or less Iron and
Magnesium free variety of tourmaline, primarily Elbaite or
Fluor-elbaite, but may also be Olenite or Liddicoatite.
Rubellite is the most expansive and prized gem in the tourmaline group, the red ones without brown are the most valuable.
These gems typically contain inclusions.