Deep in the pegmatite dikes of Pala and Mesa Grande, San Diego County miners once pulled out a gemstone so prized it traveled straight into the imperial court of China’s last empress. Between 1902 and 1910, San Diego County supplied China with roughly 120 tons of gem-quality pink tourmaline, according to the San Diego Natural History Museum. The market at the center of that demand was China’s imperial court during the tenure of Empress Dowager Cixi, who favored pink tourmaline above other stones.
The story of how a remote stretch of backcountry hillside became a supplier to the Chinese imperial court is detailed in a recent piece from Times of San Diego, written by Debbie L. Sklar. Miners working the region’s pegmatite rock discovered colorful tourmaline crystals formed inside pockets that developed as magma cooled deep underground, per the county’s own geological review of the Peninsular Ranges batholith, the massive igneous formation stretching from Southern California into Baja California, according to the County of San Diego. Those pegmatites contain pockets filled with large, well-formed crystals, helping make San Diego County known for its pegmatite mines in the Pala and Mesa Grande areas.
A Broker’s Direct Line to Beijing
The connection between remote Southern California hillsides and the Chinese imperial court ran through a Tiffany gemologist named J.L. Tannenbaum, who commissioned Southern California miners to find and ship the tourmaline requested by China’s imperial court. Separately, New York gem merchant J.L. Tannenbaum acquired the Mesa Grande claim in 1902, running the operation at full capacity to fill Tiffany & Co. orders bound for China, according to the San Diego History Center, which notes Tannenbaum routinely hired local cowboys to dig out tourmaline pockets whenever imperial orders arrived from New York.
The Himalaya Mine near Mesa Grande became a major producer in its district, and over its operating life it yielded an estimated 250,000 pounds — roughly 125 tons — of tourmaline and mineral specimens, more gem-quality tourmaline during its 15 peak years than any other mine in North America, per Where to Find Rocks. Miners named in period accounts near the mine included Vance Angel, J. Goodman Braye, Heighway, Lohrer, and La Chapa. At Pala, John Reed served as superintendent of the Stewart Lithia Mine, another of the district’s key pegmatite operations.
What the Chinese Court Did With the Stones
Once the pink and reddish tourmaline reached China, court lapidaries used it for snuff bottles and jewelry, according to Pala International. Empress Dowager Cixi’s personal interest in the gem helped create an entire international market for tourmaline, and pink tourmaline demand helped make San Diego County an important source for Chinese buyers during those peak years…