Elbaite

What's in a Name?

The most desirable of tourmalines is the species elbaite, named for the island where it was first found, Elba, which is off the west coast of Italy.

Elba is also well known as the location of Emperor Napoleon's exile after he was defeated and overthrown in 1814. The story of Napoleon and Elba is summed up by the famous palindrome "Able was I ere I saw Elba" (palindromes are fun: whether written backward or forward, they always say the same thing).