What is the price of paraiba tourmaline from Mozambique?

[wazabi]

Good morning,

I would like to date today, the price per carat of the Paraiba tourmaline from mozambique colored light blue or blue green, please?

Thank you

 

[icekid]

It is really not possible to give you a number. It depends on the characteristics of the stone. The color, size, inclusions, etc.

 

[wazabi]

color: light blue not neon
weight: 15 carat
shape: Pear
Very little inclusion ( VVS)

 

[T L]

It depends on who you get it from. Many dealers take advantage of the fact they have copper to put huge prices on them, and some dealers set more reasonable prices, but regardless of the fact if it's neon or not, cuprians are hard to come by. A few years ago, you could get some reasonable pricing, but not as easily anymore.

Many of these are not neon, and very high priced IMHO.

http://www.africagems.com/paraiba-tourmaline.html

 

[wazabi]

I knew this site http://www.africagems.com/paraiba-tourmaline.htmhttp://www.africagems.com/paraiba-tourmaline.htm but I find that their prices are a little high, what do you do? Moreover they do not give too much information.

 

[icekid]

Do you have a photo? We could at least then tell you if the price seems reasonable.

 

[LD]

As others have said, you''re asking the impossible. Colour is key with this gemstone. So, saying it''s light blue and not neon will mean it''s not in the expensive range. To be in the expensive range it has to be one of the top colours and neon. I''ve seen the colour I think you may have, go for around $350 per carat. People call this stone Paraiba Tourmaline when there''s not a hint of copper or manganese so you really need it to be certified as well.

 

[T L]

Date: 7/12/2009 9:26:47 AM
Author: wazabi
I knew this site http://www.africagems.com/paraiba-tourmaline.htmhttp://www.africagems.com/paraiba-tourmaline.htm but I find that their prices are a little high, what do you do? Moreover they do not give too much information.

The owner of that site is helpful in answering questions, and I''m unsure as to why these prices are so high. Some are really washed out and remind me of some aquamarine. Again, I do think that some sellers do charge a lot based on the fact that the stone has copper, and they are not considering the actual "neon" coloration of it. To my knowledge, paraiba tourmaline is the first gemstone that is being charged more simply because it has a mineral in it (copper), and I think it should be charged based on vivid coloration. For example, If you have two blue/green touramlines, each the same exact color, I''ve seen dealers charge more for the ones with copper. I don''t care much for that practice.

Gene of Precisiongem.com sometimes gets non-neon cuprians in from time to time, and I think he charges fair prices for them.

 

[Barrett]

If it's not neon then I wouldn't buy it(unless of course the price is real good and most importantly you you like it)...the reason being it has that name paraiba or paraiba-like which will increase the price for no other reason than the name and/or because of copper content, like TL said, which if not adding to the color then so-what..copper or no copper it's still a blue-green stone. You ladies knew I had to chime in...LOL

 

[T L]

I think non-neon cuprians do serve another nice purpose, as well as some (not all) other blue/green tourmalines. Natural light blue stones are somewhat rare in nature, and aqua has pretty much fit the bill for eons now. Unfortunately, and Richard Wise also indicates this in his aquamarine chapter in his book, he states that almost all aquas have grey in them, and aqua is one of the few stones judged on tone vs color saturation. In other words,the darker the aqua, the more valuable, regardless of the grey secondary modifier. Unlike most aqua, I find that some copper bearing non-neon cuprians have a bright blue color, without much of the grey component, that is very attractive. Again, the price should be determined based on the rarity of color and not the copper content.

Here is a very clean non-neon cuprian of around 32 carats for around 20K. I find the color to be very pleasant and nicer than most aquas I see. It's a very bright blue. The high price is probably due to the fact that it's very large and very clean.

http://www.litnon.com/viewgem.php?gemid=5302&id=21193

 

[wazabi]

Quote: "Here is a very clean non-neon cuprian of around 32 carats for around 20K. I find the color to be very pleasant and nicer than most aquas I see. It''s a very bright blue. The high price is probably due to the fact that it''s very large and very clean.

http://www.litnon.com/viewgem.php?gemid=5302&id=21193 "


GORGEOUS

! Very beautiful ! And Is it not Neon???!!! 20K for 32 carat not expensive !

 

[T L]

Date: 7/12/2009 12:56:23 PM
Author: wazabi
Quote: 'Here is a very clean non-neon cuprian of around 32 carats for around 20K. I find the color to be very pleasant and nicer than most aquas I see. It's a very bright blue. The high price is probably due to the fact that it's very large and very clean.

http://www.litnon.com/viewgem.php?gemid=5302&id=21193 '


GORGEOUS

! Very beautiful ! And Is it not Neon???!!! 20K for 32 carat not expensive !

It's not neon, no. True neon paraiba tourmalines from Brazil can fetch 20K per CARAT or more, so next to those, this one is well priced!! LOL!! This one is light in saturation and from Mozambique, although it is still lovely in it's own right. True neon paraiba tourmalines look like they have an internal electric source and "glow." Photography has a very difficult time capturing the vivid saturation of true neon paraibas.

 

[chrono]

Unfortunately, I don''t consider that neon either. If I get a copper bearing curpian, I normally try to get the glow. I don''t buy the name. Many consumers unknowingly pay the price of the name and not the look of the stone itself and unscrupulous vendors know this so the overcharge for the blue green copper bearing tourmalines that don''t glow.

 

[T L]

Date: 7/12/2009 7:36:13 PM
Author: Chrono
Unfortunately, I don''t consider that neon either. If I get a copper bearing curpian, I normally try to get the glow. I don''t buy the name. Many consumers unknowingly pay the price of the name and not the look of the stone itself and unscrupulous vendors know this so the overcharge for the blue green copper bearing tourmalines that don''t glow.

Because of Paraiba, the pricing on all colors of tourmaline has gone up dramatically. I''ve been collecting tourmaline for a long time, and I just choke seeing the prices people want for unextraordinary colors, like dravite, yellowish greens, and brownish pinks.

It used to be a cheap stone, but not so much anymore.