Red Fe^(3+)-rich and black Fe^(3+), Fe^(2+)-rich tourmalines have been studied by optical and Mossbauer spectroscopies to determine the optical characteristics of Fe^(3+) in tourmaline. Prominent optical absorption features at 485 and 540 nm are assigned to transitions of multiple exchange-coupled Fe^(3+) pairs in several site combinations. These transitions are more intense than those of isolated Fe^(3+) and are polarized along the vector between the interacting ions, thus permitting site assignments. The 485 nm band occurs at an unusually low energy for Fe^(3+) in silicate minerals. Similar behavior has been observed in the spectrum of coalingite, Mg_(10)Fe_2^(3+) (OH)_(24)CO_(3)·2H_2O, in which Fe^(3+) occurs in related pairs in edge-shared sheets. These lower energies are proposed to result from magnetic exchange in edge-shared geometries. Antiferromagnetic exchange has been confirmed by a variable temperature magnetic susceptibility study of a Kenyan dravite with 3.36 wt percent Fe. The Mossbauer spectrum of this sample is unusual in that it shows a pronounced decrease in width of component peaks from 298 K to 5 K.