Paraiba Tourmaline Price Guide – Affecting Factors and Actual Prices

Paraiba Tourmaline is a stone which became extremely popular after it was first reported found from Paraiba aria in Brazil in late 1989. Since the stone comes in a very attractive color range and it is rare, the prices have gone up exponentially.  The scientific name for Paraiba tourmaline in cuprian liddicoatite tourmaline.As many gems and jewelry lovers are looking to buy Paraiba tourmaline, I thought a Paraiba tourmaline price guide will be useful. Hence, the objective of this article is to introduce the factors affecting the price of Paraiba tourmalines and also some actual prices of stones I found from sellers around the world.

Paraiba Tourmaline Price Guide

Value of Paraiba Tourmaline stones will vary tremendously from stone to stone as for all other types of gemstones.  A Paraiba tourmaline price guide will not be complete without introducing the factors which affects the price. Therefore, before going into prices, let’s look at these factors in brief  (The main factors affecting the prices are the 4 c’s. How these 4 c’s affects the price of Paraiba tourmalines are given below but if you want to learn about the concept of 4 c’s in detail, please check this article).

1. Color

The most expensive is the blue and green mix color with strong saturation and medium tone.  Pure blue stones and other tones of green stones are only worth about half as much of a blue green mix stones.

Neon blue (which is a mix of blue and green) is considered the most valuable color for Paraiba tourmalines.

Image  – https://www.gia.edu/gems-gemology/spring-2017-cuprian-liddicoatite-tourmaline

– Tone

The tone generally ranges from light to medium dark. The most valuable is the tone that falls in the middle of this range.

2. Clarity

For Paraiba tourmalines, inclusions are tolerated given the rarity of the stone. Even eye visible inclusions will only have a small impact on the price.

3. Cut

Cut is extremely important for the price of Paraiba tourmalines. The cut should be of best quality. If the stones contains a window or the luster is reduced due to the cut, the value can drop significantly.

4. Weight

Weight is as important as for any other stone but most Paraiba tourmalines available for sale are under 1 carat. Stone weighing more than that are available but the price increases exponentially with the weight of the stone.

5. Source

Paraiba tourmalines were initially found in Paraiba, Brazil hence the name of the stone. The stone was later discovered in Mozambique and Nigeria. The Paraiba tourmalines form Africa are also known as Cuprian Tourmaline. The Paraiba Tourmalines from Brazil are more expensive than Paraiba Tourmalines from Africa.

Paraiba tourmalines found in Brazil are mostly small in size and many larger stones available in the market are from Africa.  If you want to be 100% sure about the origin of the stone, you will have to request for a certificate with the origin mentioned in it. Some certificate providers do not mention the origin unless it is requested.

6. Treatments

Since it is common for natural Paraiba tourmalines to contain a slight pink hue, most Paraiba tourmalines sold in the market today are heat treated to highlight that blue or green by removing the pink. Therefore, unheated Paraiba tourmaline could be much more expensive than treated Paraiba tourmaline.

Actual Prices

As discussed above, price per carat will vary from stone to stone. But as an approximate price guide, we can come up with a price range per carat. We will also give you sample prices we collected from various sellers from around the world.

Paraiba Tourmaline from Brazil –

Price per carat – $ 10,000 to $ 60,000

Paraiba Tourmaline from Africa

Price per carat – $ 2000 to $ 16,000

Sample Prices

• Weight (Carats): 3.85
• Shape: Oval
• Dimensions : 10.1 x 8.9 x 6.8 mm
• Color: Neon Green
• Clarity: VS
• Cutting: Excellent
• Treatment: Heat
• Origin: Brazil
• Hardness: 7.5
• Price $ 231,000   (Considering the price per carat, this stone is one of the most expensive I found. This price price is a combination of most factors discussed above.  Excellent color, clarity, origin, weight and cut.

• Weight (Carats): 7.22
• Shape: Oval
• Dimensions : 13.7 x 11.1 x 7.2 mm
• Color: Neon Blue
• Cutting: Excellent
• Treatment: Heat
• Origin: Mozambique
• Hardness: 7.5
• Price : $ 115,520.00  ( Even though this stone has a much higher weight than the above, price is relatively low. A major reason could be the actual source. This stone is from Mozambique and the previous one was from Brazil. As mentioned earlier, Paraiba tourmaline from Brazil are much more expensive than those from Africa.

• Weight (Carats): 4.22
• Shape: Pear
• Dimensions : 12.8 x 9.9 x 6.1 mm
• Color: Neon Blue
• Cutting: Excellent
• Treatment: Heat
• Origin: Mozambique
• Hardness: 7.5
• Price : $47,475

• Weight –  1.05 carats
• Measurements – 8.00 x 6.32 x 3.42 mm
• Shape – Oval
• Color – Peacock Blue
• Origin – Brazil
• Treatment – No Treatment
• Price – $ 29,400 ( This is one of the few natural untreated stones I came across in the internet during my research for this article. Natural stones are always more expensive than heated stones. So the major contributors for the price of this stone are, no treatment and Brazilian origin.

• Weight –  2.23 carats
• Measurements – 8.12×7.03×5.37 mm
• Shape – Cushion
• Color – Greenish Blue
• Origin – Not mentioned but most likely from Africa
• Treatment – Heat
• Cutting Style – Modified Brilliant
• Price – $ 23,081

• Weight (Carats): 1.18
• Shape: Oval
• Dimensions : 7.2 x 5.9 x 4.2 mm
• Color: Neon Blue/Green
• Cutting: Excellent
• Treatment: Heat
• Origin: Brazil
• Hardness: 7.5
• Price : $ 18,585

• Weight (Carats): 1.69
• Shape: Oval
• Dimensions: 7.81 x 6.52 x 5.26
• Cutting: Excellent
• Treatment: Heat
• Origin: No Mentioned
• Hardness: 7.5
• Price : $ 9,887

• Weight (Carats): 0.72
• Shape: Cushion
• Dimensions : 5.4 x 5.3 x 3.5 mm
• Color: Neon Blue/Green
• Cutting: Excellent
• Treatment: Heat
• Origin: Brazil
• Hardness: 7.5

Final Thoughts 

As one of the most exclusive types of gemstones, Paraiba tourmaline is indeed a remarkable stone. With such a short history, it has managed to capture the hearts of gemstone lovers around the world. Due to the scarcity of this gemstone, its prices are generally lot higher than other types of tourmaline and sometimes it is even more expensive than precious gemstones such as sapphires, emerald and ruby. The objective of this article was to give a comprehensive Paraiba tourmaline price guide which will be useful for anyone who is planning to purchase one of the fascinating stones.

You can use the information and prices in the article as a guideline when you are making the purchase but there is not standard pricing just like in the case of any other gemstone.