Paraiba Tourmaline Collar SOLD

If you appreciate rare natural wonders, you will grab this amazing natural Brazilian Paraiba Tourmaline* necklace spaced with Japanese double silk knots and finished with a custom peruvian opal sterling clasp.17"  I bought this many years ago from a Brazilian rare gem specialist not knowing exactly what it was but enthralled by the raw beauty of it.  I have since learned that Paraiba tourmaline in its polished form is one of the most valuable gemstones in the world, selling for over $10,000 a karat. 

*Paraiba Tourmaline It’s a rare event when a new gem variety causes tremendous excitement in the gemstone world. It happened with tanzanite in the 1960's, but only with the marketing muscle of Tiffany & Co. behind it. The case of Paraiba tourmaline is a different story. The unusual specimen was first discovered in the Brazilian state of Paraiba in 1989 by a dedicated miner named Hector Barbosa. Barbosa worked the Mina da Bathalha for over 5 years before he found the first samples of this extremely rare, never before seen form of tourmaline. It was first introduced to the gemstone world at the annual Tucson gem show in early 1990. It caused an immediate sensation.  The market demand was so strong, and the supply so limited, that it became nearly impossible for gem dealers to buy stock.  Two small deposits were later found in Africa but the prized Paraiba Tourmaline is still from Brazil.