HERITAGE

It all began when…

The very first time I held a Paraiba, I was completely mesmerised by its rare beauty. I understood immediately why it had become one of the most admired and sought after gems. 

I’ve always been attracted to beautiful and rare stones from around the world. I attribute this passion in part to being the descendent of jewellers and miners, but also to having grown up in Africa with its strong mineral mining culture. 

My family’s South African legacy began in 1668. Two centuries later great, great, great grandfather Diederik Arnoldus De Beer, along with his brother, discovered diamonds on their farm in Kimberly. This farm would later be sold to Cecil John Rhodes who formed the De Beers Consolidated Diamond Mines. Between 1930 and 1960 my grandfather, Max Burnett, owned a gold mine in Zimbabwe, working on the Copper Belt in Chingola. My father would go on to work for decades in the Zambian copper fields, not far from the copper rich soil of Mozambique where the Paraiba is mined. Copper is the element in the Paraiba tourmaline which gives its unique neon blue colour.

The manufacturing business is now based in Europe and in Asia.

The work I do is not just something I’m passionate about, it’s a legacy I’m proud of.