Another paraiba question

[Maria L]

Hi all



This is a GIA certified 2ct Brazilian paraiba, colour description is green. The whole piece was asking for 12800usd.

I understand that neon blue is the most sought-after colour for paraiba, but this kind of green is very rare to me. I asked my gemology friend and teacher they both hadn't come across a green paraiba in that green tone.

I would love to get this piece as investment but worrying that I might not be able to get the money back . I did some research on past auction lots and there were only one or two nice green paraiba I came across so they seemed rare? please correct me if I was wrong.

 

[lovedogs]

Gems are never a good investment unless you're talking about museum quality pieces ($ millions). You won't get back what you paid 99.9% of the time

 

[Avondale]

And even then… the sunrise ruby, anyone?

(Bought for 30 million and less than a decade later sold for only half of that.)

 

[Autumn in New England]

It's a nice-sized stone, but not knowing the weight makes it more difficult to assess in terms of valuation. The ring inscription says it's platinum and the stone weights are 2.01 and .79. I assume the diamonds are .79ctw. But I'm not sure if the paraiba or pink stone is 2.01ct.? It can't be the combined weight; the paraiba is too large at almost 9mm. Or maybe the .79 represents the pink stone and the paraiba is 2.01ct? Anyway! What is the pink stone? Also tourmaline? Sapphire? Spinel? That will make a difference in value as well. The ring itself is positively gorgeous.

Anyway, yes, the green shades are still valuable, especially in a well-saturated stone like this. But, as you said, they don't fetch anywhere near the prices of the neon blues or greenish-blues. I see more fine greens than I do blues, so I definitely don't think they're rarer. And this stone looks fairly included. If you love the greens though, and they are lovely, then that's what you should buy and just ignore market ideals.

In any event, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable throwing numbers out there without more info. Personally, unless you really love this particular pariaba or the ring as a whole, I might put that $13k into finding a finer loose paraiba instead. That way you know exactly where your money is going, and you're not paying for markup of other gems, metals, and the fact that it's a finished piece of jewelry instead of a loose stone. As others have said, I think you'd have to hold onto that ring for a while just to recoup your money if you decided to resell. Good luck!

 

[Bron357]

Copper bearing tourmaline comes in a few colours including red! However it is the vivid blue Paraiba tourmaline that gets people very excited and paying big $$$$.
Personally, I think only the vivid glowing blue is worth paying the $$$$ for because it’s quite magical in bright light.
Like why Burmese rubies or Kashmir sapphires are head and shoulders above the others - the special “glow” factor.

 

[Roselina]

Please only buy for yourself and for your own pleasure but not as an investment. Not because it’s a bad ring but buying jewellery as an investment is hardly ever a good idea.

 

[toomuchB]

And even then… the sunrise ruby, anyone?

(Bought for 30 million and less than a decade later sold for only half of that.)

The most severe example I've come across of something similar: this natural pearl sold in 2010 for over 1m corrected for inflation, and in 2017 for ~95k USD corrected for inflation. Maybe pearl import/export laws played a factor. Same dimensions & report number.

 

[Dreamer_D]

The most severe example I've come across of something similar: this natural pearl sold in 2010 for over 1m corrected for inflation, and in 2017 for ~95k USD corrected for inflation. Maybe pearl import/export laws played a factor. Same dimensions & report number.

Sounds like money laundering to me with that first sale!

 

[toomuchB]

Sounds like money laundering to me with that first sale!

Haha, I was too innocent to think of that, but yes, very likely.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Haha, I was too innocent to think of that, but yes, very likely.

Money laundering is huge in the fine art trade so I imagine it’s similar in gems too!

 

[T L]

There’s a reason why neon blue is so coveted and valuable in a copper bearing tourmaline, because it’s breathtaking. Tourmaline green is common whether it’s copper bearing or not. Don’t fall for the rarity ploy to sell a pretty, but common colored stone species..

 

[LilAlex]

Agree with what others have said. Don't buy the name -- unless it is already beautiful. I would not buy a less-appealing Kashmir over a Ceylon sapphire. If they were both knock-outs and otherwise comparable, I'd prefer the Kashmir but I would not pay the current market premium for it. I could imagine springing for a Kashmir if it had a look that I could not replicate with anything else -- and I think that is the type of Paraiba everyone on this thread is thinking of.