PARAIBA TOURMALINES
These beautiful tourmalines have attracted the attention of the public because of their unusual vivid colors. The palette of this gemstone lies in the “neon” tones of blue, greenish-blue, green, blue and violet-blue. The most expensive color is saturated blue without greenish or purple hue. The color of the stone is associated with the content of copper, which is responsible for the blue and green colors, and manganese is responsible for the violet shades, which reduce the cost, but can be eliminated by heat treatment. In addition to Brazil, Paraiba tourmalines have also been discovered in Nigeria and Mozambique. Most samples today are mined in Mozambique. In order for tourmaline to be considered a variety of Paraiba, a prerequisite is necessary – the presence of an impurity of copper in the composition. The gemological community has accepted that Paraiba tourmalines can be of any geographical origin, although before there was much debate about whether African copper-containing tourmalines are legitimate to refer to them. For some laboratories, it is also important that the stone must have a blue tint.
