Tanzanite Section
From R1000 to R50 000

Full Range of Tanzenite availible!

From one Carat to all sizes

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1.30ct Trilliants vb1 R9000 - $1666	1.50ct  HEARTS R10000 -$1666	1.70ct PEAR Shape AA R10000 -$1666
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	5.62ct cusion cut VBI R39999 -$6666 4.78CT oval AAA R25000 - $4000
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Tanzanite: Prize of a Gem Safari

The gemstone discoveries in East Africa in the 1960s transformed the jewelry world: new varieties, new colors, and new variations on existing species made that decade the most exciting time in the gemstone industry in our lifetimes.

But no gemstone discovered in East Africa has had more of an impact on the world gemstone market than tanzanite, a velvety blue variety of the mineral zoisite that was found for the first time in 1967 and named after the country of its birth by Tiffany & Co in New York, who introduced the gemstone to the world market in 1969.

Tanzanite 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.

New mining techniques and the liberalization of the Tanzanian economy has helped to boost production in the past few years to make tanzanite more available than ever before in the history of the gemstone.

The source of its mesmerizing color is that tanzanite is trichroic: that is, it shows different colors when viewed in different directions. One direction is blue, another purple, and another bronze, adding subtle depths to the color. When tanzanite is found in the ground, the bronze color dominates. However, with gentle heating, the cutter can watch the blue color bloom and deepen in the stone.

Legend has it that the affect of heat was first discovered when some brown zoisite crystals 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 beautiful blue color and picked the crystals up, becoming the first tanzanite collectors.

Choosing a Tanzanite

The color of tanzanite is most intense in sizes above ten carats. Smaller tanzanites are usually paler in color. Tanzanites which are more blue rather than purple tend to be more expensive because the crystals tend to form with the blue color axis oriented along the width of the crystal instead of the length. That means that if the cutter chooses to maximize the purity of the blue color, the stone cut from the rough will be smaller and will cost more per carat. The blue color, however, is so beautiful, that the sacrifice is often worth it.

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. Never clean tanzanite in an ultrasonic cleaner or resize or repair a ring set with tanzanite because the stone could shatter in the heat of a torch. It is available in a variety of shapes and sometimes in large sizes that are perfect for an important necklace.

What color is better?

The richer the color the better the stone, Tanzanites which are more blue rather than purple tend to be more rare and therefore more expensive, some experts consider a 50:50 mix of blue and purple the ultimate stone, if it doesn't have some nice blue in it keep looking.

Is tanzanite heat treated?

Yes, tanzanite in it's natural form is normally a brown color. Legends say that the affect of heat treatment was first discovered when brown zoisite crystals laying on the ground were caught in a fire set by lightning that swept through the grass covered Merelani hills. The Masai herders who drive cattle in the area noticed the beautiful blue color andpickedthe crystals up, becoming the first tanzanite collectors.

Tanzanite is a soft stone like opal so it should not be worn as an every day ring, otherwise it can be scratched, if it's bezel set or somehow protected it can be used, but still be careful

Should I buy now, I heard stories about flooding in the mines?

The flooding in the mines happens every year, just like we have our winter in NY, in Tanzania they have a rainy season where the mines get flooded every year for several months, never buy a gemstone based on someone's speculation, buy it because you love it, tanzanite is a rare stone though coming from only one place in the world, the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Full Range of Tanzenite availible!

Please contact us if you require a specific tanzenite stone. All sizes, colours and prices available.