Tourmaline of San Diego County

Today, the dusty hill towns of northern San Diego County hold the history of tourmaline discoveries in California.

Gemstone
Tourmaline is a gemstone that occurs as a shiny black rock along with a variety that morphs from pink to green. The bi-colored form, elbaite, is often called "watermelon" tourmaline for its similarity to the fruit's color transition from pulp to rind.

Post-gold ho-hummer
As the 1870s gold rush in California's Pala-region hills slowed to a stop, the mining of gemstones went on without fanfare. Gemstones, or pretty pink rocks as they were regarded, garnered less attention from jewelers than the gold that came before. Having the studied the area in what is now northern regions of San Diego county, geologists were aware of--albeit singularly unimpressed with--the presence of gemstone material well before 1872.

Geography
That year, Prof. W.A. Goodyear surveyed the area. He report showed greater intrigue with the dramatic geography than the gemstone content of the craggy California mountain region:

" ...going eastward from the coast, each valley is higher than the one preceding......dominant peaks rise higher and higher......when the mountains break suddenly off and fall within a very few miles from 4000 or 5000 feet or more..."

--from Richard Pourade, Gold in the Sun, p.49

This area today is called the Montezuma Grade. The precipitous drop of which Goodyear spoke is experienced today as Highway S22. Mountains yield to desert in Borrego Springs, nearly a mile below. The area garners more attention from driving enthusiasts and hikers than from miners digging for precious gems.

Lepidolite
In 1888, miners were finding the pretty colored tourmaline varieties embedded in the abundance of lepidolite finds. Both pink and containing lithium, it's no surprise that they would co-exist. Dr. George Kunz, then gem expert at Tiffany's in New York City, was fortunate to receive a sample. His interest in the stones generated the most interest from anyone up until then.

It wasn't long after that William Irelan found the rarer red tourmaline in the Pala region. The find raised more interest than the Indian lore abounding about tourmaline of the area. Stones of the sort were found in old Indian graves. But it wasn't until Charles Orcutt, a Vermont biologist, discovered tourmaline and lepidolite deposits, which Kunz--back in New York--expertly declared as the biggest and most important gemstone find ever in California.

Chinese interest
Most of Pala's tourmaline at the time, however, exported to China after purchase by the Empress of the Ching Dynasty Imperial Court. The green-colored portion of the tourmaline was often cut away and discarded, the pink portion being highly valued by the Chinese. More than one hundred tons of tourmaline had been extracted from the area by 1910. The area's big mining enterprises included the Himalaya, Grande Mesa, and the Esmeralda mines.

Interest today
Tourmaline continues to be extracted from seams in northern San Diego County today. No longer does tourmaline endure the waste of discarding less desirably colored portions.

The buying and selling of mineral claims draws the interest of geologists, gemologists, gemstone cutters, jewelry designers, and plain old rock hunting entrepreneurs. All have an interest in making a living--one way or another--from the rocks of northern San Diego County.

Sources:
http://www.digforgems.com
Richard F. Pourade, Gold in the Sun, Volume Five of the History of San Diego, Union-Tribune Publishing Company, 1965.
http://tchester.org/bd/places/S22_mile_8pt5_view.html