Paraiba Tourmaline

From the Federal Brazilian State of Paraiba comes this petite and precious gemstone with a blue to green hue of remarkable radiance. The turquoise to green colors are unique – not found in any other gemstone in the world – making them exceptional treasures.
Another thing that makes them unique is the story of their discovery. Heitor Dimas Barbosa discovered Paraiba tourmaline after several years of digging in the 1980s. It all began in 1981 when he began his first preparations for excavations at an old, dilapidated opencast mine he knew about. He had one deep hole after another drilled in the hard ground, but with no luck. But after a long and tiring five and a half years of drilling and digging, it appeared that a tourmaline find was imminent.
Finally, in the autumn of 1989, a handful of exceptional tourmaline crystals were brought up into the daylight and gemologists saw colors never previously observed. Unfortunately Barbosa was ill and not present at their discovery – and the raw crystals were sold before he had a chance to see them.
Now, decades later, the hill that yielded the world’s first Paraiba tourmaline has likely yielded its last, as the mine appears to have been exhausted. Tourmalines with a similar hue have been discovered in Africa but the Paraiba tourmalines remain the most sought after.