Description
Paraiba Topaz in a Sterling Silver Pendant
This color is SO intense, but what is it?
Well, back in 1989, a new color of tourmaline was discovered in the state of Paraiba, Brazil. A breathtaking neon blue/green/teal color, this rare gem was sold for as much as $5,000 per carat. It was rare, it was gorgeous, it was intense, and now, it's pretty much gone. There are small pockets of this color of tourmaline being mined still in Paraiba, and even Nigeria and Madagascar, but they're small, heavily occluded and pretty darned expensive.
So what is Paraiba Topaz? For starters, let me make it abundantly clear that this topaz is merely a look-alike of the Paraiba Tourmaline. The topaz is natural, in that it was mined from the ground, but it has been enhanced.
Back in the late '90's, early '00's, a small company in California was working on a method of treating Topaz to make it look like London Blue Topaz, but without the expense of having it treated at a nuclear reactor, etc... They would bake a chemical of some kind right into the skin of the topaz using extremely high heat and pressure. The problem was, the stones kept turning out too green. One bright soul observed it looked a lot like the Paraiba Tourmaline, and Voila!... a market was created for their "Too green for London Blue Topaz experiment". We are using the term "Paraiba" as a unique color descriptor, because no other term would describe the color nor relate to the natural stone better.
Since then, that company was sold to another one in Texas, and then later sold to one in Europe. Problem is, the European company must have bought the process to kill it, because they immediately pulled the darker color off the market. I had been buying from the California guys, and then Texas. As the sale to Europe was taking palce, the Texas guys called me and gave me a killer offer on everything they had in stock. I couldn't get it all, but I did get $20,000 worth. That was several years ago. As the supply of Paraiba Topaz in the general market dwindled, I seem to be one of the few people around that still have any.
And finally, I want you to understand that I am fully aware that what is pretty to me will not necessarily be pretty to you. If, when you get this Paraiba Topaz pendant, you're not totally in love with it, just let us know, and send it it back for a full refund. There's no sense in you keeping a pendant that you're not going to wear. This is now a fairly rare stone, so let someone else get it who will love it and wear it.
Oh, one last thing... The colors of these stones vary slightly, and yours might be exactly like the one shown, but might be a little greener or a little bluer. If you have a strong preference one way or the other, tell us in the comment section of the checkout. Also, just to be safe, it wouldn't hurt to email us at the same time and tell us again.
This setting is a good, classic mounting with a strong structure and clean flowing lines.
It does a superb job of showing off the stone, with just the right amount of attitude.
The mount holds a very pretty Paraiba Topaz, weighing about 6 carats, with a 10pt, 3mm CZ as an accent.
It's large enough to throw lots of color, but not so large as to be uncomfortable or flashy.
A good, solid, everyday pendant -- and would look just as nice out on the town!
- Are these natural stones? They were mined from the ground in Brazil, and have been enhanced to get this incredible Paraiba color. This is a very stable process, and you don't ever have to worry about the color fading.
- Is this really Sterling Silver? Yes, it is. And we use a special alloy in our 925 Sterling Silver that is tarnish resistant, so your pendant will be beautiful AND hassle-free for a long time to come.
- What's your guarantee? 30 days from when you get it, you can return it for any reason you like. No hassle, no whining -- just send it back and we'll refund all of your money.
- And The Warranty? One full year on workmanship.
- Why are we selling these so low? Well, 'cause we're hoping to introduce our other jewelry to you. We're hoping that once you've experienced the fine quality and wholesale pricing SylvaRocks has to offer, you'll be back for birthdays, holidays or just 'cause you want some more.
