Tanzanite Jewelry
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The name Tanzanite was given to this stone by Tiffany & Co. in 1969. It is the ultimate prize of a gem safari. Its rich purples and blues often have a depth comparable to the finest sapphire. Paler tanzanite has a delicate periwinkle color like the eyes of Elizabeth Taylor. It is supremely rare, coming from only one place in the world, the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.
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Legend
Tanzanites were first found in the late 1960's, at what remains the sole source: a hilly area called Merelani in, Tanzania.But like many other gemstones it carries a mystical ancient history.
Legend has it that the affect of heat was first discovered when some brown zoisite crystals,that were laying on the ground with other rocks were caught in a fire set by lightning that swept through the grass covered Merelani hills northeast of Arusha. The Masai herders who drive cattle in the area noticed the blue color and picked the crystals up, becoming the first tanzanite collectors.
Colour
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The colour of Tanzanite ranges from ultramarine to a light purplish blue. The most wanted colour is a blue which shows a purplish hue shimmering around it, which is extremely spectacular in sizes above ten carats.
The color of tanzanite is most intense in sizes above ten carats.
Typical for Tanzanite is the appearance of several colours in one and the same stone: depending on the perspective, the stone appears blue, purple, red, or dun yellow.
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These colours and paler blue stones are often heat treated to produce the preferred deep blue colour. Tanzanite is slightly fragile, and can fracture badly, ultrasonic cleaning should be avoided, but otherwise it is very suitable for jewellery, being a very beautiful stone, similar to sapphire.
Because of this fact Tanzanite jewelry is a little more delicate than other gemstone jewelry and should not be set in a ring that will be worn during strenuous activity.
Famous examples: A specimen named "The Midnight Blue", of 122.7 carats is located at the Natural History Museum in Washington, DC., USA.
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Treatment
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Tanzanite in its natural state comes out of the ground brownish in color.
But the cutter may cure this by carefully heating the stone in an oven to about 500C. This is a permanent treatment and is considered acceptable. In the course of this heating , utmost concentration is demanded, for it is essential to determine the moment when the colour turns blue.
Heating is therefore a treatment which is generally accepted in the trade, however, the rough stone has to be as free of inclusions as possible, as otherwise the process will lead to fissures in the stone.
All tanzanites which are blue in color have been treated.
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Value
Very high quality stones demand high prices because they are very very rare. It is always best to let the jeweler know what your purse can handle or you may be very surprised. There is no standard system for grading colored stones. This is why it is wise to look at many stones and compare prices before purchasing what you think is a good deal.
The stone's prices have increased in the past year, but it should never be sold as an investment.
The larger Tanzanite gems with the deep, rich color, are very expensive. Tanzanite in its natural state comes out of the ground brownish in color. |
