Paraiba tourmaline is known to science not so long ago. It cannot be found in the works of the great jewelers of the past or read about it in old fairy tales. However, during its short history, the Paraiba stone managed not only to win the hearts of many connoisseurs of beauty, but also to acquire its own legends.
Treasures of the Brazilian hills
The first of them is related to the day when a person first picked up a Paraiba nugget. It happened in the early 80s of the twentieth century in a remote Brazilian province. A certain Eimas Barbosa arrived there with a company of like-minded people - the same dreamers as himself. They spent about five years in an unsuccessful search for treasure. But the seekers did not lose hope, and Barbosa himself unconditionally believed that his dream would someday come true. But the researcher could not see the result with his own eyes, not having lived quite a bit before the triumphant find.
However, his dream really came true. The reward for hard work and faith was the discovery of a deposit of unique tourmalines, which had a deep blue tint, excellent strength, rather large size and amazing purity. Paraiba tourmaline receivedits name due to the place where it was first mined. That same province in Brazil was called (and is still called) by the same name. Since then, it is believed that the paraiba endows the owner with the ability to learn secrets and find lost or hidden things.
Chemical and physical properties of Paraiba
Have you noticed that Paraiba tourmaline, the photo of which is presented in this article, seems to be luminous, luminescent? If you are lucky enough to see this stone live, you will be convinced that this is exactly what it looks like. It's all about the physical features of the stone, thanks to which the gem refracts sunlight, amplifying it many times over.
Paraiba tourmalines come in many shades, from soft turquoise to rich green. Because of this, they are even sometimes confused with more expensive and noble gems: sapphires, emeralds, colored diamonds. But in fairness it should be noted that some samples of Paraiba, which have perfect transparency and even color, really cost a lot of money. This is due to the fact that this stone is beautiful in its own way, and besides, it is quite rare. It is not inferior in strength to many precious stones, you cannot call it fragile. But, for example, in terms of transparency, Paraiba will give odds to emerald, which almost always contains blotches and clouding.
The magical effect of the stone
Astrologers assure that Paraiba tourmaline is not an easy stone. It gives the owner not only the ability to recognize the hidden, but also courage, honesty, confidence inachieving goals.
It is believed that the stones of red-brown shades, close to the colors of the Earth, are responsible for he alth and physical strength. And stones of heavenly shades, including paraiba, provide a spiritual connection of the owner with higher powers. Often, jewelry with this unique stone is intuitively chosen by those who are in a spiritual search.
Hydrothermal rocks
Today, scientists have learned to artificially create the conditions necessary for the formation of many precious and semi-precious stones. The same processes take place in the laboratory as in the bowels of the mountain, but it takes much less time for the growth of a nugget, because temperature, humidity and other processes are controlled by a person. Lab-grown and Paraiba tourmaline.
How to distinguish a fake when buying jewelry? Firstly, in the case of tourmalines, laboratory cultivation is not considered bad manners. Hydrothermal Paraiba are not inferior to natural stones either in beauty or in quality. The only difference is their price. Of course, stones mined in natural deposits are many times more expensive. And yes, they are much less common. If you are planning to buy a mass-produced jewelry, be sure that it contains a hydrothermal stone. The labeling of the goods in these cases contains the mark GT (or HT, if the description is given in English).
But some unscrupulous jewelers call Paraiba crystals that have absolutely nothing to do with tourmalines. Glass and plastic can only be confused with this stone in the dark. Remember: Homethe peculiarity of this amazing stone is the strong refraction of the beam, creating the effect of radiance or even glow.
Jewelry Value
Could such a wonderful gem be ignored by those who make jewelry. In jewelry, it is customary to frame tourmalines in silver. But paraiba can be found even in platinum and 18-carat gold, and even in the company of more expensive gems. For example, Salma Hayek, whose ears were decorated with large drop-shaped earrings with Paraiba tourmaline and diamonds, more than once got into the paparazzi's lenses.
By the way, Salma is far from the only celebrity who has paraiba jewelry in her arsenal. Madonna owns an asymmetrical large ring of amazing beauty, Sandra Bullock and Victoria Beckham have also been seen wearing jewelry with this stone more than once.
Paraiba by Lydia Courteille
The world-famous French artist is called the custodian of the heritage of Rene Lalique. In her works, Lydia combines noble metals and the best gems that can only be found in the world. Paraiba tourmaline did not remain without her attention. She used it to create a jewelry collection dedicated to the inhabitants of the deep sea. The following illustration shows a Paraiba tourmaline, the ring was created in the small workshop of Lydia Courteille.
In this workshop, which looks like a velvet-covered box, you can meet not only stage and movie stars, but also famousdesigners. For example, Lagerfeld calls Lydia one of the best, so at many shows of his collections you can see her jewelry with Paraiba and other tourmalines.
Careful care is a guarantee of safety
If you have jewelry with this gem, do not forget to take care of them. Paraiba tourmaline has a fairly high hardness of 7.5 Mohs, but it can be damaged, for example, by a diamond or titanium. Do not store jewelry in a shared pile, otherwise the stones will scratch each other.
The stone needs periodic cleaning. Just rinse the jewelry under running water and, if necessary, remove dirt with a brush. Water not only eliminates sweat marks and dust, but also cleanses the energy of the gem. But it is better not to joke with fire, as well as with the sun's rays. Prolonged contact with light will degrade the color of the stone, and heat can make it cloudy.
Following these simple recommendations, you will significantly extend the life of your beautiful paraiboy jewelry for many years to come.
