What is a gentler stone than Black Tourmaline?

No, I haven't, but I do actually have a small tumbled stone in my collection. What are your thoughts on that stone? I was kind of leaning towards smokey quartz. I like that even though it is dark it still allows light. I'm still doing research though to find the right stone.

my recent findings after some black tourmaline experiments

The key to Black Tourmaline's specific difference from other forms of tourmaline is the greater presence of Boron. That is what makes it SO distinct, even though all Tourmaline has Boron in it. Boracite would be a good alternative and far more gentle, due to the magnesium and chlorine in it, but with it being a magnesium silicate, it is soluable in by water. Magnesium Chloride is natures perfect antiseptic. This is therefore perhaps better for cleansing where it can be used. Thus not much jewelry is made out of it because moisture will dull event the shiniest stone, even though it is as hard as quartz and quite pretty when polished or dull. Boracite runs about 2 dollars to 3.50 a carat for cut. As it can be found with Nickel Iron in it, it can be weakly ferromagnetic.

Boron Nitrate is apparently quite nice too, and when gemmed it not water soluable and can be actually mistaken for diamond. This is even more expensive.

I am sensative and Black Tormaline seems to be not too heavy for me anyway!
If you can get hold of a piece, just hold it for a minute and then make your decision.
I am with Topaz71 on the Apache tear. I just love it. Very absorbent
Smoky quartz is good But doesnt filter all you have listed..It would definately have to be paired with something.
Onyx is good!
Jet is Good!
Tormaline is a Nice stone to wear!!
What about Malachite? Its Dark green, Great for negative stuff, Great for grounding, and a piece of Clear Quartz on your bedside locker to clear the mind before sleep.
I like the idea of the bracelet you found.
Let us know what you decide

Hi Dancing Bear,

Excellent information! Thank you so much! I'm going to check out all of your suggestions and let you know what I decide. Which stones would pair well with smokey quartz? Another suggestion was to put it with green tourmaline. I wonder if malachite/smokey quartz would go well. Maybe any green stone...

Malachite seems like a good stone for the work environment and I do have both a piece of malachite to keep in my purse and a nice clear quartz crystal to sit on my nightstand.

Wonderful ideas and suggestions, everyone. Thank you.

The "Medicine Bag" That I wear around my neck has a piece of Black Tourmaline, a Lapis Lazuli "disk" and a sliver than came off my large piece of Selenite. They seem to work very well together.

Lapis...I have a lapis ring that might be good to use. I also didn't realize that smokey quartz didn't completely cover all the bases. I'm still looking at stones to pair it with like Dancing Bear said.

I like stones that can be worn in jewelry because where I work doesn't allow me to have crystals or stones on the desk and I can't really carry around stones in my pockets even if I do have pockets. Plus I love jewelry so it works out great. I've looked through the Crystal Bible and found some good stones, only it's tough to find them in jewelry form, if at all.

I might stop at a crystal shop tomorrow and test out some stones, see if Black Tourmaline is right for me.

Is there a difference between black obsidian and Apache Tear? I see them listed separately in the Crystal Bible.

Majority of Black Obsidian is Opaque, you can find some that is semi transparent But it is hard to find. It is naturally forming glass that is formed when Lava hits water

Apache Tear is semi transparent, it does appear opaque until placed up to the light... The same goes for some Obsidian... Apache Tear It is formed when hot Lava is cooled within the Earth. The speed at which it cools Prevents it to form as a crystal.
So instead it forms as solid volcanic Glass rocks.

So they are both Volcanic Lava but formed in completely different ways..

So if you are a water person Go for the Obsidian.
If you are a Earth Person go for the Apache Tear.

Both are extremely good for all you need.

I just did up my chart on astrocrystals.com and fire and earth are a level of 10, water and air are a level of 13 each. However, in Chinese astrology, the main element is earth. Hmm... I was reading some more about obsidian, and it seems to be a strong stone as well, no?

I would go with Epidote then if you are very sensitive to the black stones.
It has the same protective properties, but seems to be gentler to wear or carry.
It is usually green with some brownish/black inclusions..pretty stone and you can feel the gentle yet serious energy in it.