The highly coveted Paraiba tourmaline continues to benefit from the modern buyer’s rising penchant for exceptionality and fresh ideas, with preference for the gemstone’s electric blue colour and clean appearance only growing in intensity. 

Jewellery manufacturers and designers are increasingly opting for these gems when conceptualising new collections, citing strong demand for Paraiba tourmalines bearing the vivid ocean-blue colour. The stone’s green, green-blue or violet variants meanwhile also have a solid following in the global trade. 

These copper-bearing tourmalines are primarily mined in Brazil, Nigeria and Mozambique, with those sourced in the state of Paraiba in Brazil being extremely favoured by traders and collectors alike for their intense colours. According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), however, geographic origins of Paraiba tourmalines cannot be established by standard gemmological testing. Instead, GIA developed a sophisticated criteria that requires quantitative chemical analyses for origin determination.

Provenance aside, Paraiba tourmalines are steadily gaining ground in the luxury jewellery industry. Major houses such as Bulgari, Chopard, Harry Winston, Oscar Heyman and Gucci, to name a few, continue to place these beloved gems at the centre of their collections. 

In 2016, Tiancheng International sold a rare diamond necklace with a 91.43-carat Paraiba tourmaline pendant by Kat Florence for HK$2.3 million or US$300,637. A 10.31-carat Brazilian Paraiba tourmaline necklace meanwhile fetched US$1.19 million at Sotheby’s in 2022.