Record-breaking Paraiba Tourmaline hits the auction block

by Tamanna Bhasin | April 7, 2025 2:20 pm

The Kat Florence Lumina, a flawless 181.61-carat Paraiba tourmaline, is concluding its global debut tour with final exhibitions across Asia before being auctioned at Bonhams Hong Kong on May 22. Discovered in 2003 by gem hunter Don Kogen during an expedition in Mozambique’s Nampula province, the original crystal weighed 830 carats.

In 2025, Don’s wife, jewellery designer Kat Florence, encouraged him to revisit the uncut crystal. The first result was a 315-carat stone, notable for its size but lacking brilliance due to “windowing”—a flatness that dulls the gem’s center. After months of precise cutting, the stone was transformed into The Kat Florence Lumina, a perfectly proportioned, flawless 181.61-carat Paraiba with exceptional brilliance. It is now the largest known unheated, vividly saturated, and masterfully cut Paraiba tourmaline.

The stone’s 181.61-carat size places it among the world’s largest Paraiba tourmalines, alongside the 191.87-carat Ethereal Carolina Divine Paraiba, which was recognized by Guinness World Records in 2009 as the largest Paraiba tourmaline ever recorded. Valued between $25 million and $125 million, it set a new standard for rarity in the gemstone world.

The Kat Florence Lumina, certified by Bellerophon, AGL, and Gübelin Gem Lab, is currently on its final tour, with exhibitions in Taipei (April 11–13), Singapore (May 10–11), and Hong Kong (May 17–21).

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