Throwback to a remarkable non-copper-bearing elbaite tourmaline
Throwback to a remarkable non-copper-bearing elbaite tourmaline, published in Gemmes by Gemmologie & Francophonie, Autumn 2023, n° 2, pp. 42-44.
The popularity of Paraíba-type tourmalines is mainly due to their remarkable colour, often described as "neon" blue. Many tourmalines with this colour are traded under the label Paraíba, but sometimes mistakenly.
Today, gemmological laboratories devote particular attention to the detection of copper, an element whose presence is necessary to identify the stone as a Paraíba -type.
This article presents the analysis of a remarkable tourmaline with a colour that is characteristic of Paraíba-type tourmalines, but not copper-bearing.
Read the full article in French in Gemmes (french)
- Franck Notari, GGTL Laboratories Switzerland | AIGS Gemmological Laboratory
- Féodor Blumentritt, GGTL Laboratories Switzerland
- Yolchanok Srinaka Yolchanok, AIGS Gemmological Laboratory
- Natthawut Saenkuntha, AIGS Gemmological Laboratory