Every February I fly half way across the world to do our annual colored-stone buying trip. We go to the Bangkok Gem and Jewelry Fair in Bangkok, Thailand where I always see the most amazing array of colored gemstones. The best part of the trip is when we are looking for new and exciting cuts and colors. Two years ago, Katie, our Gemologist, and I purchased a handful of uniquely shaped apatite gems. We set them in die struck rings and pendants and they sold right away. We did this because of Katie's love of the gemstone, Paraiba. The two stones both have a similar blue, but the Paraiba is a tourmaline and is much more expensive. The images below demonstrate the color similarity; the apatite is on top and the Paraiba is below.
This morning, I read that the worlds largest Paraiba Tourmaline was set into a necklace. The gemstone is almost 200 carats! The exact weight is 191.87 carats and set above the Paraiba is a 10 carat yellow diamond! Hopefully the stones settings are die struck to truly protect those stones.National Jeweler said, "The Guinness Book of World Records has recognized this huge Paraiba tourmaline as the largest of its kind. It is nearly four times larger than the previous record holder, a nearly 51.77-carat stone. According to press reports released when the gemstone was first unveiled in 2009, it’s valued between $25 million and $125 million."
While I wish I could see this necklace in real life, I look forward to seeing all the different shapes and colors of the Paraibas' when I head to Thailand in February!Image and quote courtesy of National Jeweler