Right about now, you’re probably dreaming of a white Christmas. But why dream of white when you can dream of blue – as in, the rich, velvety blue of tanzanite? This gorgeous gem is one of December’s birthstones. If someone special in your life has an upcoming birthday, get ready. We’re about to tell you more!
What is Tanzanite?
Tanzanite might remind you of sapphires, which are also known to boast a beautiful blue shade, but tanzanite has some noticeable differences. For starters, it belongs to the zoisite mineral family, and natural tanzanite is only found in one location: near Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, in northern Tanzania. Hint: That’s how the stone got its name!
But what sets tanzanite apart from sapphires and several other blue gems is its ability to flash different colors (aka pleochroism), depending on lighting and viewing angle. A typical stone will range from deep blue to violet and purple. And according to the Gemological Institute of America, fluorescent lighting will enhance the blue tones, while warmer lighting will bring out the violet-purple shades.
In their natural form, plenty of tanzanite crystals actually appear brown with hints of green and yellow. As a result, they receive heat treatments to remove the undesired colors and boost the rich blue hues.
So, which shade of tanzanite is most coveted? Gems displaying a deep blue with a touch of violet. However, you’ll likely only find this shade in stones weighing 5 carats or more! Smaller gems are more common, and they’ll therefore have less color saturation.
History of Tanzanite
Tanzanite has only been around for about 55 years, so it’s fairly new to the jewelry scene! According to the commonly told story, a Tanzanian man, who was a member of the Maasai tribe, discovered several blue-violet crystals near Mount Kilimanjaro during the late 1960s. He notified a fortune hunter and word must have quickly spread.
Shortly after, nearly 100 mining claims were registered by locals looking to declare ownership of the area and cash in on the potentially valuable crystals. No one was able to identify the stones, but they were transparent and striking in color.
By the next year, renowned jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. thought the gems could become popular across the globe and agreed to become its primary distributor. The company named the stones after their country of origin and began promoting them widely. Tanzanite was an instant hit with jewelry designers and shoppers, who loved its deep color and high clarity.
Tanzanite Fun Facts
●Tanzanite is the official stone for celebrating a 24th wedding anniversary!
●Since Tanzania is home to the only tanzanite mines, this alluring gem is considered rarer than natural diamonds!
●You can find tanzanite in various shapes, but cushion and oval cut gems are most popular among shoppers.
●These stones score between 6 and 7 on the Mohs Hardness Scale – a scale that ranks the durability of diamonds, gemstones and other minerals. That means tanzanite is less durable than other fashionable gems, including sapphires, emeralds and diamonds. Therefore, it’s well-suited for pendants and earrings, which are less likely to sustain chips and scratches from everyday surfaces. But if you’re set on a tanzanite ring, jewelry experts recommend settings that offer more protection for the center stone, such as a bezel setting.
●Certain retailers may refer to yellow, green and pink zoisite stones as “fancy color tanzanites,” but that’s misleading! The name “tanzanite” only identifies blue and violet versions. Other colors should instead be referred to as “zoisites.”
●Tanzanite’s value often drops if imperfections are visible. But every so often, these imperfections create a cat’s eye effect, where a bright beam stretches across the stone after light hits a defect inside of the stone. It essentially resembles a cat’s eye! Stones with this rare phenomenon are even more valuable than standard tanzanite.
●Two of the largest rough tanzanite stones were just discovered in 2020. Together, they weighed a whopping 75,000 carats, an equivalent to 15,000 grams! Previously, the largest mined piece of tanzanite only weighed 16,500 carats (or 3,300 grams). A local miner sold the gems for $3.4 million.
Shop Our Favorite Tanzanite Jewelry
Hazel Round Tanzanite Halo Ring
Lucia Round Tanzanite Solitaire Ring
Oval Tanzanite & Diamond Halo Cluster Antique Ring
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