Terminology · Ethiopian Paraiba
What Is Paraíba Tourmaline?
Paraíba tourmaline is a variety name for blue to green tourmaline coloured by copper. It began as a place name and became a laboratory term that applies regardless of where the stone was mined.
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What does “Paraíba” mean in gemology?
In laboratory nomenclature, Paraíba tourmaline is blue, greenish blue, bluish green or green tourmaline of medium to high saturation that is coloured by copper (and manganese). The name describes the variety, not the origin.
Most copper-bearing gem tourmaline is elbaite, a lithium-rich member of the tourmaline supergroup. Some material has been classified as liddicoatite or fluor-elbaite depending on its chemistry. Laboratories may also add a geographic origin opinion when the data allow.
Where does the name come from?
The name comes from the state of Paraíba in north-eastern Brazil, where intensely coloured copper-bearing tourmaline appeared on the international market around 1989.
Later discoveries of similar material in Nigeria and Mozambique raised the question of whether they could share the name. Laboratory harmonisation bodies concluded that the term should describe the colour-and-chemistry variety, with origin stated separately.
What is not Paraíba tourmaline?
Blue or green tourmaline coloured mainly by iron, very light or very dark copper-bearing stones outside a laboratory’s colour criteria, and non-tourmaline lookalikes are not Paraíba tourmaline.
Frequently asked questions
Does Paraíba tourmaline have to come from Brazil?
No. Under laboratory variety nomenclature, qualifying copper-bearing tourmaline from any locality can be called Paraíba tourmaline, with origin stated separately if determinable.
References
- LMHC information sheet on Paraíba tourmaline nomenclature. Laboratory Manual Harmonisation Committee (LMHC).Citation to be verifiedInsert the current information sheet number, revision date and URL.
- GIA reference on copper-bearing (Paraíba-type) tourmaline. Gemological Institute of America (GIA).Citation to be verifiedInsert a specific GIA article or Gems & Gemology paper with authors and year.
- Reference text on tourmaline-supergroup mineralogy (elbaite and related species). Academic publisher.Citation to be verified
Author
Paraiba Ethiopia Editorial Team
The editorial team researches and writes Paraiba Ethiopia’s educational content on copper-bearing tourmaline, prioritising laboratory nomenclature and published gemological literature over trade claims.
Technical reviewer (assignment pending)
Independent gemological reviewer
Placeholder. A qualified gemologist will be named here once technical review of this page is complete. Until then, treat technical statements as editorially prepared but not yet independently reviewed.
First published 1 October 2026. Read our editorial policy
Continue reading
- Pillar guideEthiopian Paraiba TourmalineWhat “Ethiopian Paraiba” means, how copper-bearing tourmaline is identified, which colours occur, how treatment and certification work, and how Ethiopia compares with Brazil and Mozambique.
- TerminologyEthiopian Copper-Bearing TourmalineWhat is known — and not yet known — about copper-bearing tourmaline reported from Ethiopia, and why “copper-bearing” is the more precise term.
- ChemistryThe Role of Copper in Paraíba TourmalineHow copper colours tourmaline, how it is detected and why its presence defines the Paraíba variety.
- OriginOrigin Determination of Paraíba TourmalineHow laboratories determine the geographic origin of copper-bearing tourmaline, and why some stones receive no origin opinion.