Tanzanite

FUN FACTS

Tanzanite is 1,000 times rarer than diamonds yet less the price.

Tanzanite mines were only discovered in the mid-1960s in Tanzania.

As local legend states Masai herders discovered the stones when lightning struck their fields and set them ablaze.

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Tanzanite

ABOUT

Tanzanite is one of the three December birthstones alongside zircon and turquoise. When the stone is found in nature it has a brown color. While it has been discovered in the blue color it is known for, the stone must go thru a heating process to get to the blue violet color it is famous for. As tanzanite was discovered recently it does not have a long history of recorded use, and less is known of this gemstone’s history.  From local tradition in Tanzania the stone is supposed to bestow health on a newborn child when their mothers wear the stones after giving birth. Tanzanite also helps its carriers with asserting their identity and to not be influenced by others. It is also a stone that helps with creativity and coming up with new ideas by disrupting old patterns of thinking.

Tanzanite

STORY

Tanzanite is one of the world’s rarest stones and is found in the area around Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. These stones which were formed close to 600 million years ago have helped improve the Tanzanian economy.  In fact, the gems are only found in an eight-mile area in the Merelani Hills by the city of Arusha. The unique blue color of tanzanite is caused by small amounts of vanadium within the stone’s mineral structure. Tanzanite is a member of the mineral family zoisite, and though the stone was only discovered in the 1960s, stones from its family have been used for close to two centuries. While most of the tanzanite on the planet is from northern Tanzania, small amounts of tanzanite have also been found in places as diverse as New Hampshire, Pakistan, and Italy.

GEMOLOGICAL SPECIFICATIONS

  • FAMILY

    Zoisite

  • CHEMISTRY

    Ca2Al3(SiO4)3(OH)

  • REFRACTIVE INDEX

    1.691 - 1.700

  • BIREFRINGENCE

    0.009

  • SPECIFIC GRAVITY

    3.35

  • HARDNESS

    6.5 - 7