Brown Tourmaline (Dravite) Crystals

Dravite is best known as the ‘Brown Tourmaline’ and probably one of the least known Tourmaline varieties. Crystals from certain localities can be very lustrous and beautifully crystallized. It received its name after Dravograd, Slovenia, the area where Dravite was first described and named in 1883 by Gustav Tschermak for the river Drau (Latin meaning of Drave). It normally occurs in granite pegmatites, or in granites that have undergone metasomarism by boron-bearing fluids. It can also be found in sediments adjacent to these granites.

Dravite has an Isometric Crystal System and is in the Tourmaline family. Generally they are what is called prismatic (meaning they have four or more sides similar in length and width and are usually elongated in one direction). The most common form of Dravite is columnar (meaning it has parallel, slender, compact, adjoining crystal formations).

Dravite’s coloring can range from dark yellow, to deep brown, to almost appearing black. Much of it’s shading depends on how much iron is present. Less iron brings the more yellow (Champagne Tourmaline) and more iron the lovely brown coloring.