What does the African "Pariaba" Tourmaline look like rough?

Nigerian "Pariaba" Color Tourmaline
Locality: Nigeria, Africa
Oyo Ibadani - Aare Mines

This material is not from the Pariaba mine in Brazil, it is from a small find in Nigeria (Oyo Ibadani - Aare Mines) but it might as well be, and I suspect that some of this material was probably sold as original Pariaba.

The colors (neon blue, blue/green Turquoise) are truly spectacular, and absolutely top quality. The teal, turquoise, and blues in these stones are just hard to believe and the pictures do not really do them justice, they glow.

I like the colors as they are, but it is common for these stones to be heated just like the Brazilian Pariaba material. Heating makes them lighter in color and basically the same color, but they do look more toward the "neon" tones that are so valuable and in high demand.

I do not know what temperatures that are used during the heating, it is a closely guarded process, and nobody I know was talking when I asked. There was very little of this material found, about 1999 or 2000, I have heard several different stories, so that timing is my best guess. I have never seen this rough again, and probably never will.

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