Rubellite Tourmaline Gem: Meaning, Price & Benefits

Rubellite is a rare and sought-after tourmaline gemstone variety with romantic red and pink hues. The tourmaline crystal is often associated with rubies, though they’re different gems.

Well, is pink tourmaline and rubellite the same thing? Answers differ, but most would say “pink tourmaline” is another name for rubellite. However, some rare pink hues appear in other tourmaline varieties.

Regardless, rubellite is known for its red hues. But did you know that red is the rarest gemstone color? Rubellite joins ruby and red spinel in being the only gems with such pure, lush, dark red coloring, only adding to rubellite’s allure.

What Is Rubellite Tourmaline?

Rubellite is a semi-precious gemstone, though it shares similar hues and etymology with the precious gemstone ruby.

Speaking of names, rubellite may be spelled rubelite or rubylite. Other nicknames include apyrite, aphrite, and red schorl, though red schorl is more often a rutile synonym.

As a tourmaline, rubellite is an October birthstone, Libra zodiac stone, and 8th wedding anniversary gem. Rubellite specifically commemorates the 5th anniversary and is a star stone for the sun.

The crystal’s resemblance to ruby makes it a more affordable substitute for ruby — be it as a July birthstone or 40th wedding anniversary gift.

Rubellite Specifications & Characteristics

The rubellite mineral is under the tourmaline series elbaite, a group of sodium aluminum lithium borosilicates. Elbaites are the most colorful group and contain the most gem-quality varieties. Other elbaite tourmalines include indicolite, Paraiba tourmaline, and chrome tourmaline.

On some occasions, some rubellites may classify as liddicoatite — a rare series similar to elbaite but with calcium instead of sodium — or olenite — a series with high aluminum content that forms a series with schorl (black tourmaline) and elbaite. However, the majority of rubellites are elbaite tourmalines.

As mentioned up top, some gemologists differentiate pink tourmaline from rubellite. In general, the purported difference between rubellite vs. pink tourmaline is that rubellite’s color is much more saturated.

Additionally, some also claim “rubellite” only refers to red tourmalines that maintain a red color under different types of lighting.

Below are the remaining rubellite properties:

• Mohs hardness: 7-7.5

• Color: Mostly saturated shades of red, pink; Can be violet-red, brownish-red, orange-red

• Crystal structure: Hexagonal (trigonal)

• Luster: Vitreous (glassy)

• Transparency: Transparent to opaque

• Refractive index: 1.619-1.655

• Density: 3.01-3.06

• Cleavage: None

• Fracture: Conchoidal or uneven/irregular

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: Fluorescence sometimes present but weak - red to violet in SW-UV & LW-UV

• Pleochroism: Present in colorless to medium pink/light pink or pinkish-red to dark red

• Birefringence: 0.014-0.040

• Dispersion: 0.017 (moderate)

• Optical effects: Sometimes chatoyancy, color-change