Diving In Paraiba Lagoons
31st May 2019
Easily recognizable with its glowing blue color, the Paraiba Tourmaline, also known as Cuprian Tourmaline, is as fascinating as it is rare. Discovered in the 1980s’ in Paraiba, Brazil, this tourmaline gets its fantastic color from blue to green hues, (eventually violet as well) from the copper level in its composition. The deeper and more saturated is the color, the most expensive is the stone. For this specific tourmaline, color is much more important than clarity.
Paraiba Tourmaline Rough Stones.
As its name indicates, these electric stones can be found in Brazil, but also in Africa, specifically in Nigeria and Mozambique. Without a certificate, it is very difficult to determine the origin of this stone, even with a magnifier. However, some would insist on the fact that original Paraibas have a higher quality and deeper color in Brazil compared to South Africa.
The difference can remain in the size: in Brazil, stones above 3 carats are almost inexistent. On the contrary, stones from Africa are more likely to exceed 5 carats. In any case, Paraiba Tourmalines are extremely rare and sought after, which makes their price reaching sky.
Paraiba Tourmaline Rings. Legends on pictures.
In creativity, paraiba tourmalines are often mounted on white gold together with diamonds, aquamarines and sapphires, which highlight their blue hues and glowing color. Other stones such as opals and chrysoprases also beautifully emphasize the greenish tones of the tourmaline. This water stone inspires many of the jewelers to dive in the oceans and create a sweet memory of swimming in a lagoon.
Because of its rarity and high price, there aren't many creations with important stones, the most interesting ones come from the biggest names such as Chaumet, Van Cleef & Arpels and Harry Winston.