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Lab paraiba

emeraldhummingbird

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
315
Has anyone dealt with InfinityJewelersUSA on Etsy before? I am eyeing a ring that has what they have described as "lab paraiba".

Am I correct in understanding that "paraiba" refers to the blue-green colour of paraiba tourmaline? And that there is currently no lab tourmaline as yet?

I asked the vendor what the stone was and they responded "lab paraiba". I tried to clarify and sus out if it was synthetic spinel or CZ or something else and they just said thanks for looking, it's lab paraiba.

Have I missed something? Is there a stone called paraiba? Does lab tourmaline exist??

The reviews do look good, but is it worth pursuing? Thanks for the guidance.
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,038
Can you provide a link? The only "lab paraiba" that I am aware of is YAG that has the intense blue/green color that reminds people of paraiba. It isn't lab tourmaline, it's lab garnet but if you search "paraiba YAG" on here you'll see example pics (I have some and love it).
 

rosethorn

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Jan 4, 2020
Messages
143
I don’t know anything about that vendor but I did have another vendor sell me something they claimed is lab Paraiba tourmaline. No idea what it really is, of course! The listing is here. I’m finding it interesting that it looks so different from your vendor’s photos.
 

paragon1234

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Mar 8, 2020
Messages
206
I don’t know anything about that vendor but I did have another vendor sell me something they claimed is lab Paraiba tourmaline. No idea what it really is, of course! The listing is here. I’m finding it interesting that it looks so different from your vendor’s photos.

I have a ring like that too. If you look sideways through the girdle you'll see that it's a top layer of something blue glued to a bottom layer of something else.
inCollage_20200728_184309716.jpg
 

emeraldhummingbird

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
315
Can you provide a link? The only "lab paraiba" that I am aware of is YAG that has the intense blue/green color that reminds people of paraiba. It isn't lab tourmaline, it's lab garnet but if you search "paraiba YAG" on here you'll see example pics (I have some and love it).

Here is a link to one I like:

I'm only aware of paraiba yag too which is more teal, isn't it? This struck me as more synthetic pale green spinel, which I would consider, but if it's a CZ I wouldn't be willing to go for it at this price point.
 

emeraldhummingbird

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
315
I don’t know anything about that vendor but I did have another vendor sell me something they claimed is lab Paraiba tourmaline. No idea what it really is, of course! The listing is here. I’m finding it interesting that it looks so different from your vendor’s photos.

I have seen that ring before, it's pretty! Aquamarise is in my Etsy favourites :)
In fact I have this one saved:


You're right that the colour is totally different to the first vendor's pic.
 

emeraldhummingbird

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
315
This is mine. I think it might be a coating that has worn off because mine is now clear through the girdle. I don't care. It's a nice colour and cost me £10.
IMG_20200728_184822__01.jpg IMG_20200728_184903__01.jpg

Thanks for the pics of your ring! It's beautiful! Coincidentally I was eyeing the same ring from Aquamarise so it's good to have this info too! :lol:
At that price point I wouldn't be overly concerned about the stone either.
But when you're looking at $650USD, maybe half of that is attributed to the gold, so is it fair to say I need to be sure of what the stones are?
 

bludiva

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
3,076
Thanks for the pics of your ring! It's beautiful! Coincidentally I was eyeing the same ring from Aquamarise so it's good to have this info too! :lol:
At that price point I wouldn't be overly concerned about the stone either.
But when you're looking at $650USD, maybe half of that is attributed to the gold, so is it fair to say I need to be sure of what the stones are?

I have a paraiba yag precision cut and I think it was around 200 all in, for 650 would want to be sure it’s not something where a coating could wear off or layers fall apart etc
 

lovedogs

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jul 31, 2014
Messages
18,038
Here is a link to one I like:

I'm only aware of paraiba yag too which is more teal, isn't it? This struck me as more synthetic pale green spinel, which I would consider, but if it's a CZ I wouldn't be willing to go for it at this price point.

I definitely wouldn't buy this for 650. Lab white sapphires won't sparkle like diamond or moissanite, and I have no idea what the center stone is. paraiba YAG is an amazing color, and this is much more dull. I would expect it to be lab spinel or lab sapphire, but I am very concerned that the vendor won't/doesnt specify what the stone is or how it's made. Especially for the price.
 

emeraldhummingbird

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
315
I have a paraiba yag precision cut and I think it was around 200 all in, for 650 would want to be sure it’s not something where a coating could wear off or layers fall apart etc

Was that $200 including a solid gold setting? If so that's excellent!! In this case I attribute maybe half of the price to the gold, but the $325ish balance for an unidentified stone is a bit of an ask! I didn't even consider that the colour could be a coating!
 

emeraldhummingbird

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
315
I definitely wouldn't buy this for 650. Lab white sapphires won't sparkle like diamond or moissanite, and I have no idea what the center stone is. paraiba YAG is an amazing color, and this is much more dull. I would expect it to be lab spinel or lab sapphire, but I am very concerned that the vendor won't/doesnt specify what the stone is or how it's made. Especially for the price.

Thanks for bringing me back down to earth lovedogs. I really really liked the design, but I know I shouldn't ignore such red flags :(
 

bludiva

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 23, 2017
Messages
3,076
Was that $200 including a solid gold setting? If so that's excellent!! In this case I attribute maybe half of the price to the gold, but the $325ish balance for an unidentified stone is a bit of an ask! I didn't even consider that the colour could be a coating!

no, didn’t mean to confuse things, it was just the stone (10mm). maybe they can tell you more about that stone’s makeup?

the yag isn’t expensive it was the cutting that added to it Btw
 

emeraldhummingbird

Shiny_Rock
Joined
May 25, 2020
Messages
315
no, didn’t mean to confuse things, it was just the stone (10mm). maybe they can tell you more about that stone’s makeup?

the yag isn’t expensive it was the cutting that added to it Btw

I did ask them, but their response was it's "lab paraiba", as if "paraiba" is the gemstone. So either they are being shifty, or they genuinely don't know. I suspect the latter..
 
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