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Tanzanite The facts.. |
Tanzanite is a unique and very special gemstone. It is only found in one specific location World-wide. Its vibrant blue colour which glows with a deep purple hue and gives out flashes of red is truly magnificent. Its stunning appearance inspired Tiffany’s to market it as one of the worlds most popular and sought-after gemstones.
Tanzanite was enthusiastically celebrated after its discovery in 1967 as the "Gemstone of the 20th Century”. Gemstone experts literally held their breath when they were shown the first crystals mined in the foot hills of Mount Kilimanjaro, in northern Tanzania. Millions of years ago, gneiss stone, metamorphous slates, and Quartzite’s produced grand flat insular mountains in the vicinity of Mount Kilimanjaro. At the very core of these unique hills reside valuable crystals. For centuries they remained unobserved by men. However after a bush fire caused by a lightning strike some passing Massai tribesmen spotted crystals sparkling in the sun and picked them up.
In Merelani today the crystals are searched for in a few, usually smaller mines, to a degree by modern methods. Usually only smaller pieces are found, but occasionally the miners strike lucky and extract a larger crystal, creating an air of joy for both the mine owners and Tanzanite enthusiasts across the globe.
Tanzanite is a blue variety of Zoisite gemstone and has a hardness of 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale. To put this into perspective Diamonds are 10, Sapphire and ruby are 9, Emerald and Aquamarine are 8. The implication of this is that extracting large crystals without breaking them is incredibly difficult, making large pieces of Tanzanite harder and harder to come by thus constantly pushing up the price
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When Tanzanite was first presented to Tiffany’s after it had been discovered, they were immediately convinced that this gemstone would become a sensation!
They also came up with a new name for the blue beauty, as the technical term "blue Zoisite" had no romance about it. So Tiffany suggested the name Tanzanite to reflect the beauty of a clear Tanzanian night.
The new name quickly established itself in the market. And it was in fact the firm of Tiffany’s who introduced the stone to the public in a grand promotional campaign two years after it was first discovered.
Wondrous and magnificent are the colours of Tanzanite, ranging from ultramarine to a light purplish blue. The most coveted colour is an intense violetish blue which shows a purplish hue shimmering inside. This becomes spectacular in stones of ten carats and above.
Typically a Tanzanite of good cut and size will show several colours in one stone. Depending on perspective, stones appear blue, purple and sometimes with flashes of red. |
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Rough crystals show a large proportion of brownish-yellow or a dull brown/grey. This is cured by heating the stone to 500°C. During this process acute observation is necessary, as it is crucial to determine the precise moment the stone turns blue. Heating is therefore a treatment which is universally accepted in the trade (you will not find unheated polished Tanzanite).
Working with Tanzanite is a delicate task as the gemstones cleavage is very high in one direction. This exquisite stone is cut into various shapes, from classical rounds to enthralling designer cuts but always in a manner that will enhance and bring to the world the maximum beauty of the stone.
Purchasers of such a unique gemstone wish to be elevated from the masses. Wearing it communicates self-confidence and individuality combined with care of others. The mystical colour of a perfectly cut Tanzanite is not only stunning on young women but emphasises the individuality of a mature woman These days, Tanzanite of good quality and larger sizes can fetch almost any price.
What is it that makes this stone so coveted? Is it only the spectacular colour? Well, it seems we must also take its exclusivity into account.
A New Birthstone
Traditionally birthstones for December are beautiful blues. They were only turquoise and blue zircon. But finally there is a newcomer on the block to combat those “Winter Blues”.
There is a non-profit association that represents the North American gem industry and in cooperation with other industry associations felt that it was time to reconcile this lack of choice.
In 2002, the AGTA added tanzanite to the official list of birthstones for December thus maintaining the tradition of beautiful blue gems.
As Tanzanite was only discovered in the mid 1960’s, it was never included in the official 1912 birthstone list. Once they found that tanzanite is by far the most popular blue gemstone after sapphire |
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these days it made sense to add it the list of official December Birthstones especially as the Massai tribesmen give it to their babies as a token good fortune. .
Given Tanzanite’s growing popularity, it makes sense that adding it to the list of birthstones can only increase the desire for this stunning gem.
This is the only time that a gemstone has been added to the official list since it was created.
Given that Tanzanite is only found in one special location globally, it is becoming more and more valuable. Considering that the desire to own something unique and rare has always been a decisive criteria for evaluating gemstones.
Initially marketed as an affordable alternative to Sapphire, Tanzanite remained plentiful in the mid ‘90s. This was until however, in 1998 a flood at the mines drowned over a hundred miners which closed the mines for approximately two months. After that, production never quite regained its previous momentum.
Amazingly though the largest Tanzanite crystal was found in August 2005 in the C-Block mine. The crystal weighs 16,839 carats (3.4 kg) and measures 22 cm by 8 cm by 7 cm.
Increasing demand is pushing miners to dig deeper and deeper into the core, even so they are finding less and less material. Supply continues to dwindle as demand increases. Accordingly prices are climbing, with no relief in sight.
Buy Tanzanite now
Send us an email
sales@tanzaniteaustralia.com
Phone:
+61 (0) 2800 51347 |
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