This Might Be the Rarest Paraíba Tourmaline in the World
Original article written for Town & Country
The name comes from the Brazilian state in which these stones were first discovered in the 1980s—and they are distinguished by their “Windex blue” hue, a result of the presence of copper deposits. The man to thank for entering Paraíba into the jewelry lexicon is Heitor Dimas Barbosa, who had such a strong conviction that there was treasure buried deep in those hills that he started digging in 1981 and didn’t stop until the first tourmaline was unearthed six years later. Naturally, international frenzy followed. So voracious was the appetite for these unique gems that it only took another few years before the mines were depleted.
Which brings us to this Paraíba in question. That it’s from Barbosa’s original Batalha mine is reason enough to pay attention, but factor in its size (37.34 carats) and the fact that its peacock blue color is completely natural (as in, no heat enhancement at all) and you pretty much have a once-in-a-lifetime discovery. “It’s not just rare, it’s irreplaceable,” says Bill Rau, the third-generation owner of M.S. Rau, who acquired the gem. “Stones like this simply don’t exist anymore.” In fact, this is considered the largest gem of its kind ever known and likely the only one in the world. Now set in a platinum and rose gold pendant framed with pink and white diamonds, it is currently available at the 113-year-old New Orleans jewelry and antique emporium for just under $10 million.
