Nomenclature2 min22 August 2026
What “heated” means on a listing
Almost all tourmaline on the market has seen an oven. That is not a scandal — but silence about it is.
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What we learn, written down
Notes from buying, from the loupe and from laboratory reports. Written for people who would rather understand a stone than be sold one.
Colour2 min22 August 2026
Why darker is not better
Buyers trained on sapphire and emerald reach for the deepest stone in the tray. In tourmaline that instinct costs money.
ReadBuying3 min22 August 2026
Paraíba, or a very good blue tourmaline?
The price gap between the two is a factor of a hundred, and almost nothing you can do by eye will close it. Here is what the eye can do, and where it has to stop.
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