Ink blue tourmaline from Afghanistan—geologically referred to as Indicolite—is one of the most sought-after blue varieties of the elbaite tourmaline family. Renowned for its deep, saturated midnight-to-ocean blue hues, high-grade Afghan ink blue material is prized by gem collectors and custom lapidaries alike.
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Color Spectrum: Ranges from intense midnight blue and dark denim to deep teal/cyan blue. When viewed in low light, it appears almost blackish-blue (“ink blue”), but comes alive under direct light with flashes of rich, saturated blue.
Plochroism & Orientation: Extremely strongly pleochroic. The crystal’s $c$-axis (lengthwise direction) absorbs significantly more light and often appears near-black or dark green, whereas the perpendicular $a/b$-axes show the vibrant ink-blue tone.
Clarity & Size: Clean, facet-grade rough over 3 carats is rare. While pink/green tourmaline often yields large clean crystals, blue indicolite rough tends to have thin tabular crystals or stress fractures, making eye-clean faceted stones above 2–3 carats very valuable.
Hardness & Durability:$7 – 7.5$ on the Mohs scale with no distinct cleavage, making it a tough, durable gem for all types of fine jewelry.
Weight
1.95 lbs
Dimensions
7.2 × 6.2 × 4.8 in
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