Paraiba – the word has a particular fascination for the connoisseur, for it is the name of a gemstone with blue to green tones of extraordinary vividness. It was not discovered until very recently, that is to say in the 1980s. The world has one man and his unshakable belief to thank for the discovery of this unique gemstone: Heitor Dimas Barbosa. Tirelessly, he and his assistants spent years digging in the pegmatite galleries of some modest hills in the Federal Brazilian State of Paraiba. The beautiful stone got its name from the region in Brazil in which it was first discovered. Paraiba stone is a Tourmaline known for its bright neon colours. The colour ranges from blue to green, and all just as bright as the last. Because of this the colour of the gemstone is important when valuing it.
