What we call Pink Rubellite is simply a lighter color pink tourmaline that usually comes from a mine producing Rubellite. When a mine is actively producing there will be a number of shades of color the darker red stones are easily classified as Rubellite. The lighter color stone are usually called Rubellite in the country of origin but we get picky about labels here in the USA and believe that Rubellite should only be called such if the stone is red.
But this avoids some of the big issues. First of all Pink Rubellite tends to have the very best pink of all tourmalines—it is more pure—more of a Hot Pink color than any of the other pink tourmalines. Secondly, very few of these stones tend to come out of a Rubellite mine. Mostly when we have seen large lots of Rubellite in the rough they are all red. That is a good thing on the one hand but since the pink is so unusual it seems to me that it is a lot more rare. Thirdly, the red color being dark tends to hide a lot of the inclusions that are part of almost every Rubellite. So, when we find a Pink Rubellite that is fairly clean it is an amazingly rare find. The gem in the photo is perhaps one of only a handful of truly fine Pink Rubellite stones we have had while by comparison we have had thousands of the red ones—which are rare by comparison to other gems—but the fine quality Pink Rubellite—AMAZING!!!