Tourmaline has been known and traded for at least several centuries, though it was not formally recognized as a distinct mineral group until the 18th century. The name derives from the Sinhalese word 'turmali.' Major deposits are found in Brazil, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Madagascar, and the United States (particularly Maine and California). Brazil is the world's largest tourmaline producer by volume. The discovery of the group's piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties in the 18th and 19th centuries made it scientifically significant well beyond its use as a gemstone.

Tourmaline is not a single mineral but a group of related boron silicate minerals sharing the same crystal structure. The general formula is XY3Z6(T6O18)(BO3)3V3W, where different elemental substitutions at the X, Y, and Z positions produce different variety names (Schorl, Elbaite, Verdelite, Rubellite, Indicolite, etc.). Tourmaline is piezoelectric and pyroelectric — it generates an electric charge when compressed or heated. This electrical activity is a defining physical property that makes it scientifically distinct from all other gemstone groups.

Ancient Egyptian legend held that tourmaline acquired its rainbow of colors as it traveled up through the Earth, passing through a rainbow and absorbing each of its colors along the way. This explains why a single crystal can hold so many distinct hues — each one carries a piece of that original spectrum., In Renaissance Europe, tourmaline was sometimes confused with other colored gemstones and was prized as a talisman of artistic inspiration and creative power. The Dutch in the 18th century named it 'aschentrekker' — ash puller — after discovering that heated tourmaline crystals became electrically charged and attracted ash particles, the first recorded observation of pyroelectric behavior in a mineral., and In Sri Lanka, where tourmaline has been mined and traded for centuries, it was historically called 'turmali' — believed to be derived from the Sinhalese word for stone from a mixed color. Sri Lankan traders regularly shipped tourmaline to Europe alongside other precious stones, where it was often sold as emerald, ruby, or sapphire before mineralogists realized it was a distinct material.

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