You are likely to find exactly the raspberry tourmaline you’re looking for on 1stDibs, as there is a broad range for sale. Each design created in this style — which was crafted with great care and often made from
Gold,
White Gold and
18k Gold — can elevate any look. Find an antique version now, or shop for 6 vintage or 8 modern creation for a more contemporary example of these cherished accessories. Finding the perfect raspberry tourmaline may mean sifting through those created during different time periods — you can find an early version that dates to the 20th Century and a newer variation that were made as recently as the 21st Century. A raspberry tourmaline from
Mary Gallagher,
Avanti and
Gubelin — each of whom created a beautiful version of this treasured accessory — is worth considering. See these pages for an
oval cut iteration of this accessory, while there are also
cushion cut cut and
mixed cut cut versions available here, too. When shopping for a raspberry tourmaline, you’ll find that there are less available pieces for unisex or
men today than there are for
women.
Very few gems dazzle quite in the manner that tourmaline does — vintage and antique tourmaline jewelry is a showstopper, and you can blame this on its wide range of spectacular colors. In fact, when Dutch traders brought stones back home from Sri Lanka that they couldn't identify, they called them "toramalli," a Sinhalese term for "mixed gems."
If you could transform the ocean to a gem, this is what it would look like: a clear, translucent azure, bordering on turquoise, hypnotizing in its depth and sparkling in the sun.
There is, in fact, such a stone, although it comes from deep in the copper-rich mountains of Paraíba, Brazil, and not from the oceans along its coast. Far rarer than diamonds, Paraíba tourmaline, a kind of tourmaline discovered only in the 1980s, is treasured as much for its extraordinary color as its scarcity, both of which contribute to its high value.
While diamonds generally sell for about $6,000 per carat, a carat of Paraíba tourmaline is likely to fetch about $16,000. Fans of the gem are said to include singer Taylor Swift and actress Zooey Deschanel, as well as some of the finest jewelers.
“No other stone can have a color as magnetic and captivating as Paraíba tourmaline,” says Vania Leles of VanLeles Diamonds, who combines the stone with diamonds and other gems in several of her designs.
You don't have to stop at Paraíba tourmaline jewelry — on 1stDibs, find the most extraordinary antique and vintage tourmaline rings, tourmaline and diamond earrings and other accessories.