What You Didn’t Know About Paraiba Tourmaline

There’s no gemstone most mistaken as tourmaline. It’s a semi-precious gem which takes people’s attention. Tourmaline comes in a variety of colors and occasionally comes out in two colors in one crystal. You can get a crystal with one color at one end and a different color on the other. There’re some crystals which come with one color inside and a different one on the outside. The most popular color combination in tourmaline is red, pink or green becoming known as watermelon tourmaline. Below is what you didn’t know about Paraiba tourmaline.

What’s the deal with Paraiba Tourmaline?

The uniqueness of this gem lies in its diamagnetic ability. Diamagnetic items don’t attract magnets instead of attracting them. This explains why Paraiba Tourmaline comes with some traces of copper. It doesn’t have magnetic trace metals as other tourmalines. These traces of copper in Paraiba Tourmaline are usually blue or green. The deposits in Paraiba are of any color but these colors are richer and deeper unlike other gems. 

Why is Paraiba Tourmaline more expensive?

The deep color in high-quality gems is not only a feature of Paraiba Tourmaline, it’s only the frequency which is much greater. The best Paraiba Tourmaline is no match for sapphire and ruby in value. It can command a considerable amount per carat. The best thing about tourmaline is the ability to come in larger crystals. Paraiba tourmaline with 2 carats is very rare and comes in small handfuls of over 3 carats. Other tourmaline in places like Africa can be more than 5 carats and are a common occurrence. 

How to deal with inclusions

Inclusions are not a desirable feature in most gemstone. Emerald, sapphire, and ruby are treated equally to reduce any visible inclusions in the stone. When it comes to Paraiba Tourmaline, you can buy Paraiba Tourmaline loose stones with no worries about inclusions. The major consideration for this gem is color. With great color, it’s normal practice to value Paraiba Tourmaline regardless of inclusions. 

That’s not all. Clarity is an important aspect of valuing diamond and the rest of other gems. Amazingly, this is not the case with Paraiba Tourmaline. If two gems possess similar color depth the one less included ideally more valuable. However, it’s not the same scenario. 

Distinguishing tourmaline

With a similar chemical composition to tourmaline from Paraiba, the stones from Africa have a composition of lead. It’s common practice to say all tourmaline with copper as Paraiba. Therefore, you have to be careful to make a proper identification of these stones before buying. Real Paraiba Tourmaline has distinguishable features which set it apart from the rest. It has an extraordinary color depth. Most people sometimes buy African tourmaline guised as Paraiba at a high price. 

Here’s the deal

It takes special skills and experience to distinguish African and Paraiba tourmaline. Furthermore, you need the expertise to detect lead when you’re offered a stone. If it’s unusually large, chances are high that it might be African tourmaline. It does not mean it lacks quality, the truth remains it comes short of being true Paraiba stones.