TANZANITE
A relatively new and rare gemstone discovered in 1967 in the Mererani Hills of East Africa near the town of Arusha near Mt Kilimanjero. Rumor has it that Masai herders in the area noticed a change in the color of the rocks after a brushfire. The rocks had turned a bright blue color. This was roughly around the same time, 1967 in the country of Tanzania. Manuel de Souza was the first white man to see the potential in the pretty blue rocks. He called it "dumortierite", a blue non gem mineral. He showed it to John Saul who was a local gem dealer and miner who knew it was not dumortierite and sent it to his father in New York City, the vice-president of Tiffany & Co., who took it across the street to the Gemological Institute of America who correctly identified it as a variety of Zoisite. Officially it was called “blue Zoisite” but Tiffany felt it sounded to much like ‘blue suicide’ and would turn people off. They marketed it as “Tanzanite” and it remains today as Tanzanite.
BANGKOK CONNECTION
The normal color of the rough crystals is a reddish brown and must be heated to get the deep blue color. While this was going on in Africa and New York I was sitting in Bangkok buying and selling rough and cut gems out of an office in the local Gem Bldg, known as The Executive House. One of my African friends that I bought from regularly came into my office one day with a couple from Africa and told me they had zoisite they wanted to sell. Didn’t think much of it and asked to see it. They had about 500 grams of clean crystal zoisite that showed a little tinge of blue. We talked for a while and negotiated a price of around $2 per gram. I felt very good but had no idea what I was doing since I had never seen “Tanzanite” before, only a few cut stones. I knew they had to be cooked so I spread them out in a cookie sheet and put them in the oven at 350 and waited. A slight color change so I raised it to 500 and within an hour I had a tray of some of the most beautiful blue crystals I’d ever seen.
CUT TANZANITE
One of my best buys to date, 500 grams got me about 240 carats of mostly flawless cut Tanzanite. The largest ones were 19 and 25 carats and a lot of stones between 3 and 10 carats. I made about 20X on the investment. The gem is dichroic or trichroic, that means they have 2 or 3 directions that show two or three colors of blue or purple or even red, a beautiful gem. It is not a durable stone like sapphire, the hardness is only 6-6.5 and it has one direction of perfect cleavage. That means it can break and scratch pretty easy. It is best suited for earrings and pendants. Rings and bracelets will wear a lot quicker than most gems. Tanzanite is a little better than amethyst for wear. And never use an ultrasonic machine to clean them or an abrasive cleaner of any kind.
TANZANITE TODAY
The largest cut tanzanite so far is 737.81cts but a crystal of 16,839 carats was unearthed and may produce a very large specimen. Since around 2005 the government of Tanzania has stopped the export of any rough stones over 0.5 grams to promote development of local cutting shops in the country. In 2002 Tanzanite was added to the official birthstone list for December by the American Gem Trade Association. Tanzanite One Ltd. has taken control of the market in Tanzanite since gaining controlling interest in the mines.
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Comments
Tanzanite has the advantage like diamonds, there is only one major source. So it makes a good collectors piece. Thanks for coming by Art, good to see you,
Peter
Good hub, Peter. I've always been interested in rocks, minerals, and gems. Once, forever ago, a niece requested a small box collection (about 8X8 inches that my sister had given me)to take to school for a "show & tell" (don't know what they called it back then.) Anyway, when I got the box back it was missing the very tiny piece of gold. This happened like back in the very early sixties. I don't have any idea how much that gold weighed. Couldn't have been much, because I doubt my sister paid very much for the collection. Just one of those life happenings that you never forget.
Today gold is over $1600 and ounce in the 60's it was $35 an ounce. Funny how things stay with you and seem just like yesterday. Thank you for coming by and adding to the conversation, always a treat,
Peter
Peter, prior to meeting you I had almost no knowledge of gem stones. My view was ugly rocks, plain rocks, and pretty rocks. I have learned a great deal about the various pretty rocks by reading your hubs. Thanks for sharing your vast knowledge with the rest of us.
You are too kind Mike, thanks for the support and the comments, your always right on and I really appreciate it,
Peter
Wonderful article. Well versed and well written. I learned a lot about Tanzanite that i never knew. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Hi DW, Thank you so much for your kind comment and glad you come by, just returning the favor for all the great HUBs I've learned from you,
Peter
Peter, I ask only one thing. My wife was born with a love of the pretty rocks. When you come to Tucson please do not share your knowledge of these beautiful but expensive rocks with her. If you were to do this, I would be forced to raise my debt ceiling and I am not prone to do this at this time. Just kidding Peter.
Very nice looking stone. Thanks for the information about it.
Mike don't you worry I'll keep the good stuff hidden. But for you I will give you a deal, a lot better than what we got from those folks in Washington.
Peter
Joe thanks for stopping by and appreciate your comments.
Peter
Peter - thank you for that my friend. My wife uses the female logic that when she buys something we didn't need, but got it at a discount, we saved money. My brain struggles with this logic, but after 48 years of marriage I have learned to just ignore it. I tried to convince her that in times of famine, a can of beans would have more value than any diamond, but I lose every time. I guess some things were just not meant to be understood by the males of this world.
Mike, I've seen some good explanations of how men and women differ in their thinking processes and I thinke we are from differnt planets. That's right there are things we are just not meant to know.
Peter - Many books have been written in regards to this difference in thinking, but no real conclusive reasons for this. Your right, some things were just not meant to be understood. I can grasp the concept of a universe that supposedly goes on to infinity than my wife's logic.
I have found that the word logic does not apply in most cases when speaking of jewelry with women.
Peter
Let me explain something to you males about the pretties. They are still valuable to someone and easy to transport when things get bad.
During WWII, when people were heading out of Germany and other occupied countries, the lucky ones took their pretties. When they got where they were going, they were able to sell these gems and live on the money from them. This is why gems and good metals will always be valuable and a good investment.
In extreme times, I have pawned some of my rings to get money to eat on and gotten them back a few months later.
All kidding aside Becky you are right. Gems, diamonds and precious metals are portable concentrations of wealth. when the Romanovs Were executed by the Bolshevics they believed three were still alive because the gems they had sown into their cloths deflected the bullets. The women of India wear their wealth as jewelry to protect it and have it in an emergency. Many of the jews of europe were saved by trading Diamonds to the Germans for their lives. Concentrations of wealth that are easily hidden and transportable, that is the other advantage of jewelry besides beauty, this has been true throughout history. Thanks for your input and glad to have you come by,
Peter
Hi Peter!
What a beautiful colour those stones are!!
Hi Trish, good to see you, they are a beautiful color, they actually have a range of colors even green. The green is called green zoisite. If you get a chance to see some take a look. Thanks for your comment,
Peter
Great hub Peter, I've always had a thing for cool rocks and different color stones but know very little about them. I'm going on vacation next month back to Maine where I visited 2 years ago for the first time. They have a stone there called tourmaline (sp?) that is amazing. One particular color called watermelon I find to be one of the most beautiful stones I've seen but is expensive. It's from a place called Mt. Mica. Interesting hub, as always! Peace!! Tom***FYI, I did have a few White Castles in you honor, yummm :-P
Thanks you Tom for having those bugers in my honor, I only wish I was there to return the compliment. So you like "watermelon tourmaline", that is a beautiful stone. It can be pricy but depends where you get it. There is African material that is less expensive but just as good. You need to go to a Gem and Mineral show, you'll see more than you can imagine. Where are you guys and look up some shows coming to your area? Thanks for the great comments and the burgers,
Peter
Good to know Peter. I'm in the greater Cincinnati area and I'm sure I've seen those shows listed close by. I'll have to check one out!
There are a lot of shows in the Midwest, I'm originally from Detroit, you will find a lot better deals at a Show than at a retail store.
Peter
I always learn something new when I stop by.
Good Hub and informative Peter.
The Frog
Thank you Frog,
Peter
I have several Tanzanite rings and bracelets. Mostly gold but some in silver. I really enjoy them and like to wear them. I did not realize it was so soft though. I will have to be careful with it. I have no idea what they are worth though because I inherited them from my mom.
HI Becky, yes Tanzanite is rare and beautiful but not very durable. treat it like you would an Amethyst or even an Opal. That way you'll make sure to have them for a long time. If they do get worn they can be repolished and made to look like new. The larger and the bluer they are the more expensive they are.
Thanks,
Peter
Great information. I love Tanzanite. When I first discovered it some years ago, I was seeing the inferior, lighter colored stones sold by the mass jewelers. Later I found the darker, even more beautiful stones. Thanks for the work you put into such an informative hub.
Hi Cindi, thank you for the kind words and welcome to my HUB, hope to see more of you,
Peter
Well done peter! I really love the history and the updates..Nice discovery for Tiffany Inc. who didn't think suicidal was the best word for marketing purposes. You are a wonderful gemologist as I see. Voted up Brother!
LORD
Lord, glad you enjoyed the article and thanks for the nice comments,
Peter
Hi Peter,
I had no idea that Tanzanite was discovered so recently. It's a lovely stone that I have admired when I watch QVC. Good to know that the stone is better as a pendant or earring. I had no idea. Great article filled with your wisdom and knowledge of gems.
Well thank you very much BukowskiBabe, haven't seen you in a while. Always nice to have you come by,
Peter
Hi Peter,
This gem is breathtaking. I absolutely want one. The history of tanzanite is very interesting and I enjoyed reading about it. I agree with tiffanys about the name change. Blue suicide is not a catchy name for a stone. It might make a good name for a rock band though! Voted up, beautiful and interesting.
Hi Amymarie, Good to see you, Tiffany did a good thing on the name. The stone is very beautiful just a little fragile for everyday wear. Thanks for the votes and the nice comments,
Peter
art-max 9 months ago
Thanks for that historical tidbit. As you know I am a packrat first and a collector second. I have a collection of gemstones, but not any Tanzanite. Its a pretty stone.