Pariaba Tourmalines?

[Nomsdeplume]

I'm in love with this color! It's like the water in Thailand. Beautiful.

http://www.agta-gtc.org/images/newsletter_images/2007-02-27_ftir/mozambique_paraiba_pala.jpg

http://www.belenky.com/images/exotic_gemstones/paraiba_tourmaline/20070520_paraiba_tourmaline_400.jpg

Yummy.

I know the hardness is rated 7.5, but is that too soft to be worn on a daily basis?

Any help is appreciated.

DAMN I didn't spell that correctly.

 

[chrono]

Lovely glow. I am partial to the blue ones. As with all gemstones, they aren't daily wear gemstones and are best in pendants and earrings. It can be worn in a ring but requires extra care and gentleness.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I''m thinking of getting a few little ones to set into a ring. As soon as I''ve saved up enough, that is. I hear they can be quite pricey.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Very pretty

How is the engagement ring hunt going?

There's this Tourmaline from RWise, not Paraiba, but very pretty and MUCH more affordable.
http://www.rwwise.com/products/id|1606

 

[chrono]

Good ones are getting much harder to find too.

 

[T L]

Top quality paraiba tourmaline, even in small sizes, are very pricey. It's more $$ than diamonds.

The best material in the world comes from Brazil, but what is coming out now, isn't as good as what was originally found back in the 1980's.

The second best material is from Mozambique, but it's practically mined out, and what is coming out now is washed out material.

The third best material that still contains copper as a coloring agent is Nigeria. I don't think it has the same glow as the Mozambique or Brazilian material, but it's more like the non-copper bearing Afghan material.

I don't think the RW stone has the same neon glow, but it's pretty.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

MakingTheGrade, the proposal was never official, but he told me that I should look for a ring so that he can buy it. Now he seems to have gotten cold feet and he doesn''t want to talk about it.
Silly me.
I feel like an idiot because I thought he was serious.

It''s such a shame that there are so few good ones available. I really love the glow.

 

[T L]

I personally would not want a paraiba for an e-ring. Aside from the fact that tourmaline is too soft for everyday wear, this material is typically heated, which also causes it to be additionally fragile.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I have my heart set on a padparadscha sapphire for an e-ring. But it doesn''t look like that will happen anytime soon anymore.

I was looking at these tourmalines because my grandmother always told me "put a ring on your own finger before you let a man put a ring on it." She gave me a tourmaline for my 21st but I never had it set. I was thinking of setting it with a few small paraibas.

 

[swimmer]

Kribbie, awesome grandma you have!

 

[Nomsdeplume]

She is awesome!

She is a huge gem-lover and has quite an impressive collection. The tourmaline she gave me is a beautiful purple. I didn''t know how rare the purple ones were until I looked it up.

 

[T L]

Date: 4/28/2009 1:18:43 PM
Author: kribbie
She is awesome!

She is a huge gem-lover and has quite an impressive collection. The tourmaline she gave me is a beautiful purple. I didn't know how rare the purple ones were until I looked it up.

We need pictures of that purple tourmaline!! That is a pretty rare color in tourmaline, especially a pure grape or violet purple.

Grandma sounds like someone I would love to hang around.

 

[m76steve]

kirbbie-here is a quick pic of some of my purple tourmaline in pendent-the pic is fairly close but the stones are purple in person-hope this helps...

 

[m76steve]

this is a peice of brazillian paraiba @2.2cts....

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 4/28/2009 1:18:43 PM
Author: kribbie
She is awesome!

She is a huge gem-lover and has quite an impressive collection. The tourmaline she gave me is a beautiful purple. I didn''t know how rare the purple ones were until I looked it up.

Nice! Can we see a picture? I recently saw a few copper bearing purple tourmalines that were gorgeous.

I love blue-green gems, but I adore the true electric blue Paraibas. I had the pleasure of seeing a small one a few weeks ago, and it was priced accordingly.

 

[T L]

Date: 4/28/2009 6:22:38 PM
Author: coatimundi

Date: 4/28/2009 1:18:43 PM
Author: kribbie
She is awesome!

She is a huge gem-lover and has quite an impressive collection. The tourmaline she gave me is a beautiful purple. I didn''t know how rare the purple ones were until I looked it up.

Nice! Can we see a picture? I recently saw a few copper bearing purple tourmalines that were gorgeous.

I love blue-green gems, but I adore the true electric blue Paraibas. I had the pleasure of seeing a small one a few weeks ago, and it was priced accordingly.

Was the small one priced the same as a car?

 

[coatimundi_org]

Date: 4/28/2009 6:32:36 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover


Was the small one priced the same as a car?

Yup--and more than a D IF of the same carat weight.

...a small car--used car, really.

 

[chrono]

Tell me about it. The original mine Paraibas are definitely priced more than a D IF diamond of equal size and/or carat weight.

 

[Icce]

These are totally different stones in the picture but this picture from wink''s site is what your description make me think of. The colour contrast here.

 

[m76steve]

a good peice of original paraiba tourmaline from ground zero in brazil usually averages from 15-30 thousand dollars /ct. this is for the heated windex colored material-some of the african material with similar color is almost as much in value but the king of the hill is still the brazillian stuff-my 2 cents...

 

[Harriet]

Date: 4/28/2009 8:40:57 PM
Author: m76steve
a good peice of original paraiba tourmaline from ground zero in brazil usually averages from 15-30 thousand dollars /ct. this is for the heated windex colored material-some of the african material with similar color is almost as much in value but the king of the hill is still the brazillian stuff-my 2 cents...

I couldn''t agree more. Btw, have you found me one?

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Hope this works. Excuse the terrible photography! My tourmaline and my sister's. We are twins, so we both got tourmalines for our 21st. Mine shows up a lot more pink in this picture than it does normally.

 

[m76steve]

harriet-have found several paraibas but dont know how to get you the info-for ur eyes only-wil b watching...

 

[Nomsdeplume]

Icce, that looks great! I like the color combination. That has convinced me.

Why am I seeing paraibas for under $5000? Is there any way to "fake" them?

 

[T L]

Date: 4/29/2009 5:17:42 AM
Author: kribbie
Icce, that looks great! I like the color combination. That has convinced me.

Why am I seeing paraibas for under $5000? Is there any way to 'fake' them?

Like any gemstone, there is bad, good, and great quality. You can find copper bearing tourmalines for a small amount of $$, but typically the color is washed out, there is a heavy grey mask, and/or there is little to no neon "glow." Green paraibas are also less expensive than blue ones. The best ones have a vivid neon glow, and the only way I can explain it is if you've ever seen a piece of kryptonite depicted in the Superman films. That neon vivid glow is only seen in top quality paraiba. Top quality paraiba is just like that, but more blue, like the waters of some tropical reef. If you haven't seen it in person, it's difficult to describe, and even more difficult to convey in a photograph. Most "so called" paraiba you see on ebay and other places looks more like aqua or blue topaz. You do not want paraiba that can be mistaken for either of those gemstones.

As far as "faking" them, yes, many dealers sell coated topaz or quartz as paraiba on ebay. They are manuafacturing coatings that look like the color of paraiba, but the material doesn't glow. A lot of photos are heavily photoshopped as well to give the stones that neon vividness.

Mozambique material is still significantly less expensive than Brazilian, but it's not as neon and saturated as the top quality Brazilian material. That being said, there are some very beautiful Mozambique stones that are neon and lively in their own right. A lot of dealers are taking advantage of origin to sell the Brazilian material at a much higher price than comparable Mozambique, and I think that's wrong. You need to look at each stone individually and judge it on it's own merits, no matter where it's from.

There's also the issue with nomanclature on what can be called Paraiba and what cannot be called Paraiba. Some experts think only the Brazilian stones should be called Paraiba, and some think only stones from Mozambque or Brazil, but only with the trademark signature "glow", and there are still other definitions. To me, I just want a stone that glows, and I don't care where it's from. I rather have a Mozambique stone that glows vs a Brazilian stone that doesn't.

Glow is what these stones are all about. There's really not much else like it in the gem world.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 4/29/2009 5:08:08 AM
Author: m76steve
harriet-have found several paraibas but dont know how to get you the info-for ur eyes only-wil b watching...

Think, Harriet, think.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 4/29/2009 9:14:48 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
There''s also the issue with nomanclature on what can be called Paraiba and what cannot be called Paraiba. Some experts think only the Brazilian stones should be called Paraiba, and some think only stones from Mozambque or Brazil, but only with the trademark signature ''glow'', and there are still other definitions. To me, I just want a stone that glows, and I don''t care where it''s from. I rather have a Mozambique stone that glows vs a Brazilian stone that doesn''t.

The laboratories have come to a consensus regarding nomenclature. From www.palagems.com:
"A paraíba tourmaline is a blue (electric blue, neon blue, violet blue), bluish green to greenish blue or green elbaite tourmaline, of medium to high saturation and tone, mainly due to the presence of copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) of whatever geographical origin."

I don''t usually care about origin, but in this case I do. Even though there are mediocre Brazilian Paraibas, the good ones outshine the good Mozambiques. My $0.02.

 

[T L]

Date: 4/29/2009 9:42:42 AM
Author: Harriet

Date: 4/29/2009 9:14:48 AM
Author: tourmaline_lover
There''s also the issue with nomanclature on what can be called Paraiba and what cannot be called Paraiba. Some experts think only the Brazilian stones should be called Paraiba, and some think only stones from Mozambque or Brazil, but only with the trademark signature ''glow'', and there are still other definitions. To me, I just want a stone that glows, and I don''t care where it''s from. I rather have a Mozambique stone that glows vs a Brazilian stone that doesn''t.

The laboratories have come to a consensus regarding nomenclature. From www.palagems.com:
''A paraíba tourmaline is a blue (electric blue, neon blue, violet blue), bluish green to greenish blue or green elbaite tourmaline, of medium to high saturation and tone, mainly due to the presence of copper (Cu) and manganese (Mn) of whatever geographical origin.''

I don''t usually care about origin, but in this case I do. Even though there are mediocre Brazilian Paraibas, the good ones outshine the good Mozambiques. My $0.02.

I agree with you Harriet.

Thank you for the definition above.

 

[Harriet]

You''re welcome. I should add that the prices of the Brazilian material are also in their own world.

 

[T L]

Date: 4/29/2009 10:00:16 AM
Author: Harriet
You''re welcome. I should add that the prices of the Brazilian material are also in their own world.

I personally think the prices are ridiculous. But that''s me, some people think it''s worth it. For that kind of money, I rather have a colored diamond.