Rubellite
Synonyms: Aphrite; Apyrite; Rubelite; Rubylite.
Name: after the Latin word for red.
Clades: Tourmaline; Elbaites; rarest gem in Elbaites.
Region: Afghanistan, Brazil, Madagascar, Myanmar, Nigeria, Russia, United States.
Chemical: A(D3)G6(T6O18)(BO3)3X3Z.
Colour: red, pink, pinkish, violet-red.
Mineralogy
Rubellite is the red or pink variety of Tourmaline.
It is occasionally mistaken for ruby.
Rubellite is a Lithium rich and more or less Iron and Magnesium free variety of tourmaline, primarily Elbaite or Fluor-elbaite, but may also be Olenite or Liddicoatite.
Rubellite is the most expansive and prized gem in the tourmaline group, the red ones without brown are the most valuable.
These gems typically contain inclusions.