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Paraiba Tourmaline cabochon...

GregS

GregS

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
722
Looks like a nice light green blue tourmaline but I would have never guessed Paraiba because the colour doesn't pop.
 
I don't know anything about Paraiba's and I don't think I've ever seen one as a cabochon, but as an uneducated observer its stunning. It's very "glowy" and that would look great in a ring I think. If it were mine I'd certainly keep it!
 
Chrono|1349889888|3282807 said:
Looks like a nice light green blue tourmaline but I would have never guessed Paraiba because the colour doesn't pop.
Click to expand...
Hmm, by pop do you mean how bright the stone is? I asked the gentleman on the phone and he said the stone is very bright, even in low light. He also stated that the saturation was very good for being so small.
 
Yes, it is bright but I'm not seeing the glow, at least not of the level where one recognizes it as Paraiba.
 
Chrono|1349890557|3282815 said:
Yes, it is bright but I'm not seeing the glow, at least not of the level where one recognizes it as Paraiba.
Click to expand...
I'm going to post pictures when it arrives so you can re-evaluate it then. What would be ideal lighting conditions for observing the "glow"? Inside low light, outside daylight, artificial lighting etc...?

I just spoke with them on the phone again and they assured me it was Paraiba. Having not seen the stone I dont know if I like the "looks" of it enough to spend 150 on a report, so sending it to AGL via Paraiba International is out of the question. However, if upon receiving the stone I decide to keep it and send it off to AGL myself, they agreed that a report revealing anything other than Paraiba Tourmaline would warrant a refund. Regardless of the 7 day return period.
 
GregS|1349890343|3282814 said:
Chrono|1349889888|3282807 said:
Looks like a nice light green blue tourmaline but I would have never guessed Paraiba because the colour doesn't pop.
Click to expand...
Hmm, by pop do you mean how bright the stone is? I asked the gentleman on the phone and he said the stone is very bright, even in low light. He also stated that the saturation was very good for being so small.
Click to expand...


I think what Chrono means is the color is a little mellow for a paraiba. I always think windex blue and this is way more pastel to me.

paraiba.jpg
 
Very pretty! I bet that it will "pop" when you see it in person.
 
Greg:

Welcome to the world of cuprian/paraiba tourms! There have been many threads on paraibas here and if you haven't already, they do make great reading.

I know what Chrono means and tend to agree. If you see some of the examples in old threads, you'll see that true Paraibas have a neon glow that makes them look lit from within, even in rough form. Your stone is a very pretty tourmaline and if they say its from Paraiba, I'm sure it is, it just isn't the highest quality level with all the neon, which is probably why its a cab and why its not the astronomical price of a true Paraiba. That said, it looks to be a bright and pretty stone and hopefully you will like it very much! =)
 
Greg- I think it's a very pretty gem. It's funny- I was just looking at it this morning and debating about purchasing it, but decided I needed to set a few stones I already own before buying anything else. I agree it's not top color and I couldn't see the interior of the stone very well from their video, but I happen to love that color blue-so it didn't really matter to me. I'll look forward to seeing the pics when you have it in hand! :D
 
GregS|1349890809|3282817 said:
Chrono|1349890557|3282815 said:
Yes, it is bright but I'm not seeing the glow, at least not of the level where one recognizes it as Paraiba.
Click to expand...
I'm going to post pictures when it arrives so you can re-evaluate it then. What would be ideal lighting conditions for observing the "glow"? Inside low light, outside daylight, artificial lighting etc...?

I just spoke with them on the phone again and they assured me it was Paraiba. Having not seen the stone I dont know if I like the "looks" of it enough to spend 150 on a report, so sending it to AGL via Paraiba International is out of the question. However, if upon receiving the stone I decide to keep it and send it off to AGL myself, they agreed that a report revealing anything other than Paraiba Tourmaline would warrant a refund. Regardless of the 7 day return period.
Click to expand...


One person's definition of "Paraiba" may not fit anothers. The problem is how do you measure neon-ness and glow? There's not a chart for this. So, somebody could say, ok, this comes from Brazil and has the correct chemical compound and general colour so we'll call it a Paraiba. Others will say, well, it has all of that but does it stand apart from a very good cuprian tourmaline?

Looking at the photo it's a nice stone. Is it of Paraiba neon-ness? I would say not quite or if it is, it's only just scraping through. It has a certain glow in the still photo but the video doesn't rock my world. Compare it to my avatar - that's a Paraiba. The acid test for me is "does it look almost like a fake stone" - ie so glowy that it couldn't possibly be real - like a piece of Kryptonite (blue or green)!

Having said that the video isn't taken at the best angle so I'd wait until it arrives and make your judgement. If you love it, keep it. Material is in short supply. Great material is almost unattainable at the moment unless you pay through the nose. Compare the video of the one you've bought to the top price ones on Paraiba International and that will give you a feel for the quality.

Hope that helps.
 
Thank you for all of the excellent replies/advice. I have been looking at that stone for a while now and wasn't impressed with the video at all. The angle is lousy, I would've preferred it straight on. Paraiba of the finest quality is way out of my price range unfortunately, so this stone is a compromise. Windex color it is certainly not, the "glow" these stones are famous for is what I am after. The picture seems to exhibit that quality. I'm going to post pictures of my own as soon as I have it in hand.

LD, it's nice to finally know what stone is in your avatar, it's gorgeous. I have been thinking high end Tsavorite...now I know.
 
I like the cabochon shape and the colour is very appealing. I would also assume, that it will pop a bit more in your own environment. Sometimes the monitor or the photography doesn't always do the stone justice. Worst case scenario --- you return it!

Excited for you, Greg, and hope when it comes, it's as glowy as it should be for a paraiba! How long till arrival???
 
Greg if you're looking for glow then I'm not sure that you'll (a) get it from a cabochon and (b) from this particular stone. It has some but not what you see when you think of Paraiba. Funnily enough I looked at Paraiba International's website the other day for a thread on here and wasn't impressed with what they had with the exception of a stone that cost more than a few cars! The problem is that until you've seen what a Paraiba should look like, it's easy to think that a stone has glow. Of course it was far easier to compare stones years ago and be very discerning but nowadays, it's not that easy to acquire that knowledge.

From my experience, I would say that if you're happy (and have the funds) for a nice stone with a pretty colour but it's debatable whether it fits a true glowing Paraiba (in the absolute sense of the word) then you've paid a great price and will have a good stone.

When it arrives, look at it in all lights and most importantly look at it in dull shades (say under a table). If you see what looks like a little blue lightbulb then it's ok! What is also a good idea is to take the photo of what a Paraiba should look like (see top left of photo below) that you'll find all over the internet. Take a photo of yours but be honest with yourself, put it next to the internet photo - how does it compare? This only works if you're honest and don't try to take a glamour shot of your stone!!!!

Here's one that I did to compare a few of my stones .....

paraiba_montage.jpg
 
Enerchi|1349902333|3282915 said:
I like the cabochon shape and the colour is very appealing. I would also assume, that it will pop a bit more in your own environment. Sometimes the monitor or the photography doesn't always do the stone justice. Worst case scenario --- you return it!

Excited for you, Greg, and hope when it comes, it's as glowy as it should be for a paraiba! How long till arrival???
Click to expand...
It should be here Friday.

LD, I will take pictures inside, under low light with no flash. I'm looking forward to your input when I post them to this thread. And the stones in those pictures are incredible, all of them. I'm not expecting the stone I purchased to be in their league, but I do expect it to appear to glow in low light, otherwise it goes back.
 
Sarahbear and LD explained clearly what I meant. The stone is pretty but does not show the intense-ness associated with a Paraiba. Of course, if the stone comes from the mining region of Paraiba, technically, it can be called a Paraiba. It's sort of the same thing where you can have two very different looking red spinels from Mahenge but whereas one is a deeply saturated red (where it made the name Mahenge famous), the other could be a pale pinkish spinel but is technically still a Mahenge because it is mined from the same region. Am I making sense?

Well, let's wait to see what it looks like. I hope it'll live up to your expectations. My concern is that for those who have not seen top Paraibas, mistake a hint of glow as something very neon. It has to look totally fake, as though it is radioactive. If not, then it can be classified as a cuprian. For comparison, check out the Paraiba cabochon Leon Mege set, surrounded by tiny faceted Paraiba melees.
 
Greg, everybody has explained really well. The hard part is that if you've ever seen a top-quality Paraiba IRL, you never forget it & you'll never mistake anything else for it. Unfortunately, the whole gem-buying world feels the same way & we all have that boring thing called a budget. :(sad If you like what you have once you've seen it, that's what counts. It would make a very nice ring. The seller sounds reasonable to work with, too. Looking forward to seeing your pics tomorrow.

LD, if somebody breaks into your house (or bank) & all your Paraibas are gone, the police will never find me; I will have left the country with no forwarding address! :wavey:

--- Laurie
 
Is that the Leon ring that someone said went missing?
 
innerkitten|1349963667|3283240 said:
Is that the Leon ring that someone said went missing?
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Yes. I had completely forgotten about that. I wonder how that was ever resolved? It sounded like a messy breakup for sure.
 
JewelFreak|1349955426|3283184 said:
LD, if somebody breaks into your house (or bank) & all your Paraibas are gone, the police will never find me; I will have left the country with no forwarding address! :wavey:

--- Laurie
Click to expand...


JF: I think we need to teach LD that "sharing is caring." :bigsmile:
 
Right, Minou. I'm first.

--- Laurie
 
Is it my eyesight or is the stone totally opaque? Looks more like chrysoprase, actually, a chrysoprase has better clarity with comparable coloration.
 
in the video i can see the back and bottom of the stone rotating, while looking through the front.
 
gongli|1350058253|3283870 said:
in the video i can see the back and bottom of the stone rotating, while looking through the front.
Click to expand...
I think they were referring to the link posted by someone else. They weren't saying the stone I linked to is opaque.
 
Greg,
You are correct. I was referring to the stone in the FB link, which is a still picture.
 
I 100% agree with Chrono. In that last link, the colour of the cab ring is beautiful but the stone is just yuck! It's so heavily included that the glow will DEFINITELY be hampered and I can't see this performing at all. You'll see the colour but not the glow. It just looks fuzzy!


Minou/JewelF - back off or I'll send the boys round! :lol:
 
Ummm... It's going back. :rolleyes: The adjectives dull and lifeless come to mind.
dsc_0521.jpg
dsc_0509.jpg
 
Sorry for your disappointment.

BTW are not ALL cabochon's "dull and lifeless"?
Isn't that what facets are for?

(Not to diss cabochons; I know many people love their look and with the right material they DO have a gazing-into-infinity kind of charm.)
I wouldn't throw a 3 ct perfect-color silky and glowing Kashmir Blue cabochon out of bed for eating crackers.
 
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