Interesting Facts About Tanzanite

Tanzanite is found in Tanzania, which is located in northern Africa.

Tanzanite is a relatively new discovery compared to other types of gems. Tanzanite was discovered in 1962 in northern Tanzania in Africa, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Five years after its discovery a large deposit of the gem was found in the same area. This resulted in large scale mining of the tanzanite gem. Tanzanite is one of the most valuable gems in the world, but many people try to make imitation copies to make money.

Commercialization

Shortly after the discovery of the large tanzanite deposit in Tanzania, Tiffany and Company realized the potential that tanzanite had for jewelry and became the main distributor of the gem worldwide, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Tiffany and Company developed the name for the gem and named it after the country it came from, according to the Gemological Institute of America. This created major publicity for the gem in 1968.

There have been extreme price fluctuations of the tanzanite gem because of its scarcity and Tanzania's dangerous political, social and economic climate. Tanzania is the only country in the world that has tanzanite. This creates a small supply which increases the price of tanzanite.

Preparation

After tanzanite is mined it is heat-treated to create violet bluish colors and purple colors, according to the Gemological Institute of America. The most valuable type of tanzanite are gems with deep color hues. Most of the time the stones with these deep color hues weigh over 5 carats or more.

Considerations

Tanzanite is a pleochorism gem which means it displays different colors from different angles depending on where light hits it, according to the Gemological Institute of America. For example, from some directions a tanzanite gem will look blue and from other directions it will look purple.

Tanzanite is a type of the mineral zoisite, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Blue tanzanite is usually worth more per carat compared to other hues of the gem.

Characteristics

Sudden temperature changes can cause tanzanite gems to crack, according to the Gemological Institute of America. Hydrochloric acid and hydrofluoric acid is dangerous to the tanzanite gem and can damage the surface. Tanzanite should only be cleaned with warm soap and water.

Warning

Materials like glass, synthetic corundum, synthetic spinel and synthetic spinel triplets have been used to create imitations of tanzanite gems, according to the Gemological Institute of America.

References

• Gemological Institute of America: Tanzanite

Resources

• Berkeley University: Tanzanite
• Emporia University: Tanzanite
• Caltech: Tanzanite University
• Ohio State University: Tanzanite