Gem Names and Gem Origin
Paraiba Tourmaline
In 1989 an unusual blue-green tourmaline was first discovered in the Brazilian state of Paraiba. These tourmaline appeared to glow with almost a neon quality. Analysis showed that this effect was due to the presence of copper and perhaps manganese. This new variety, which became known as Paraiba Tourmaline, caused a sensation in the gems world in the 1990's.
In 2001 some similar copper-bearing blue-green tourmaline was discovered in Nigeria. Then in 2005 a third find was made, this time in Mozambique. The Mozambique material is found in a range of colors, from green to blue-green to violet.
The new finds were good news for the gems world, but they led to a heated controversy over the proper use of the name "Paraiba." Should these new African tourmaline be called "Paraiba Tourmaline"? Some have claimed this is a deceptive practice that threatens the honesty of the gem trade. One gem dealer, David Sherman, who is heavily invested in Brazilian tourmaline mines, launched a $120 million lawsuit against the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) for using "Paraiba" to refer to the new African copper-bearing tourmaline. Sherman was strongly supported in the industry press by the editors of Colored Stone Magazine.
Tsavorite Garnet Rough
The argument was made that only copper-bearing tourmaline from the Paraiba region of Brazil can be called Paraiba Tourmaline. To call a Nigerian or Mozambique tourmaline by that name is deceptive, even if the African tourmaline is copper-bearing and displays a similar neon blue or green color. It is really no different from selling a ruby from Madagascar as "Burmese Ruby." It is a deceptive practice and should be prevented if we are to have an honest gem trade.
This sounds like a thoroughly reasonable argument. But it actually rests on a confusion about varietal names and gem origin. It also ignores some important facts about the history of gemstone names.
Every distinctive gem variety needs a name. Sometimes a name is officially granted and sometimes it just happens as a result of common usage. Thus the red variety of corundum acquired the name "ruby" long ago. Rubies come from many locations, so we have "Burmese ruby", "Madagascar ruby", "Thai ruby," and so on. These descriptions consist of a variety name ("ruby") and a geographic origin ("Burma").
Afghanistan Hiddenite
But there is actually a long history of gem varieties themselves being named after the place where they were first found. Examples include Hiddenite (after Hidden, North Carolina), Tsavorite (Tsavo National Park in East Africa), Andalusite (Andalusia, Spain) and Gaspeite (Gaspé Peninsula, Canada). Eventually specimens of these were found in other locations, but the name connected with the original location stuck. So you can have tsavorite from Tanzania ("Tanzanian tsavorite") and tsavorite from Madagascar ("Madagascar tsavorite").
Andalusite Gemstone
The name "Paraiba tourmaline" looks like it has the same form as "Burmese ruby". But it does not. The fact is that "Paraiba tourmaline" has become a varietal name, similar to "ruby" or "tsavorite garnet". One can argue that this was not a good idea, that the varietal name should have been "cuprian elbaite tourmaline," not "Paraiba tourmaline." You might also prefer "chrome grossular garnet" instead of "tsavorite garnet." But once a gem variety has become known under a certain name it can be very difficult to change it. Gems names, like so much of our language, are conventional.
If in fact there is something special about the Paraiba tourmaline from Brazil -- like there is something special about Burmese ruby -- we can still refer to it as "Brazilian Paraiba tourmaline." But selling a Mozambique tourmaline as a "Paraiba tourmaline" is not like selling a Madagascar ruby as "Burmese ruby." Though the names looks like they have the same form, the semantics are actually very different.
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