 Nigerian Paraiba Tourmaline rough, 65.44 carats | The paraiba tourmaline find in Brazil in 1989 caused a sensation in the gem world. For a time, these vivid-colored, copper-bearing tourmalines were only found in Brazil. After tourmalines of similar color and composition were discovered in Nigeria around 2001 and Mozambique in 2005, the term “paraiba tourmaline” was applied as a trade name for copper-bearing elbaite tourmalines regardless of origin. |
 |  Nigeria Paraiba was first discovered in 2001 in Oyo. Gemological testing and semi-quantitative chemical data analysis cannot distinguish between the Paraiba’s originating from outside Brazil. Only a spectrometry test is able to reveal the slight chemical differences of the stone's source. |  Ijero mines,Ekiti Nigeria |
 | Paraiba Tourmalines are very expensive, and are rarer than diamonds. Some stones are priced as high as $60,000 per carat. Wholesale prices are reported to be at $10,000 per carat for Paraiba stones larger than three carats. Nigeria is plagued by gemstone smuggling which is said to exceed $3b every year. |  |
