Paraiba Tourmaline

Item Description

For about 20 years or so, there have been some beautiful copper-bearing Tourmalines coming out of Mozambique. For most of that time these gems were referred to as "Paraiba Tourmaline", in reference to the famous neon copper-bearing Tourmalines from the state of Brazil by the same name. There was much debate as to whether the Mozambique material deserved to use this name, as the Brazilian gems were often thought to be superior in some respects, and they were the original copper-bearing Tourmalines, so they alone should carry that designation. But the term "Paraiba" carries a lot of weight / value in the gem world, and the Mozambique material was marketed as "Paraiba" for this reason. Recently, GIA announced that ANY copper-bearing Tourmaline can be referred to as "Paraiba", closing the debate. This gem is a beautiful little "Round" cut Paraiba Tourmaline with a glowing blue color with a slight greenish overtone. The stone has very slight inclusions, but Tourmaline is classified as a type-3 gemstone, which means that inclusions in the stones are acceptable in the trade for collectors and dealers. A lovely little "sparkler" of this beautiful desirable material.