In the past names such as rubellite and indicolite were used for red and blue tourmaline respectively. Since the mineral suffix ite implies each are a different mineral, it is now preferable to use the terms red tourmaline and blue tourmaline, etc. Tourmaline's many color variations make it an example for another kind of mis-labeling. For example, one will sometimes see the usage of names such as Brazilian sapphire or Brazilian emerald for blue and green tourmaline respectively. Such names confuse the potential buyer into thinking the stone is something other than what it really is.
Tourmaline is fairly easy to identify.
Finished stones have a soft luster and the two refractive indexes, 1.620 and 1.640 allow for some doubling of back facets and inclusions in the stone. Tourmaline may also show some long tubes that are oriented parallel to the c-axis of the crystal. The typical tourmaline crystal is long and sub-triangular in cross section and the outer surface is usually deeply striated. The lapidary must orient the stone such table of the stone is parallel to the c-axis of the crystal. Tourmaline absorbs light along the c-axis of the crystal and if the table is perpendicular to that axis, the stone will develop a very dark body color.