Tanzanite can have an intense and deep violetish blue color. Tanzanite is the violet blue to blue violet variety of the mineral zoisite<a href="https://www.chordiajewels.com/categories/tanzanite"Tanzanite</a>

1. Tanzanite

2. Tanzanite Facts
1. Tanzanite was first discovered in 1967 in Tanzania.
The gemstone was discovered by a man named Manuel De Souza, an Indian tailor who had travelled to Tanzania
to search for gemstones and gold. It is said that he was walking through the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro when he
spotted something glistening in the ground. He deduced that the stone was too soft to be sapphire, and it was
later categorised as a variety of the mineral Zoisite.

3. 2. It is a rich blue variety of Zoisite.
The rough form of tanzanite is a reddish-brown colour. In order to become
tanzanite, the mineral must contain traces of Vanadium. The stone needs to
be heated to 600˚C for 30 minutes in order to transform into the vibrant blue
colour that is associated with tanzanite. The deeper the blue of the
tanzanite, the more desirable and expensive it will be.

4. 3. Tanzanite is only mined in Tanzania.
The gemstone has only ever been found in the same place it was first
discovered, in the Merelani Hills of Tanzania. As the stone becomes more
popular, miners are having to dig deeper than 800 metres in order to find it. The
mining and selling of tanzanite are regulated by the Tanzanian government to
ensure it remains ethical and sustainable. Today, the mines only span around
14 square kilometres.

5. 4. The largest rough tanzanite was found in 2020.
The largest rough tanzanite ever mined was found in June 2020. A man
named Saniniu Laizer discovered two tanzanite stones, one weighing
9.2kg and the other 5.8kg. Laizer earned an incredible £2.4 million from
Tanzania’s mining ministry for tanzanite. He planned to use his profits to
build a school and a shopping centre to aid his local community.

6. 5. The largest carved tanzanite is named ‘L’heure Bleu’.
The piece was created by Naomi Sarna and sits on a sterling silver base. It was
inspired by the winds of the Great Rift Valley. Sarna travelled to the tanzanite mines
where she found the 725-carat gemstone that she carved as her entry into an
international design competition. Sarna taught the women in the area how to create
jewellery using tanzanite so they could sell their own creations. The finished
artwork won a First-Place Spectrum Award from the American Gem Trade
Association. Naomi Sarna plans to donate profits from the sale of the ‘L’heure Bleu’
to the Maasai people for eye care.

7. 6. Tanzanite is a birthstone for
December.
Tanzanite was made a birthstone for December by the American Gem
Trade Association in 2002. It was the first alteration made to the list
since 1912. This emphasises how new tanzanite is within the gemstone
industry.

8. 7. The gemstone is believed to inspire calmness, compassion,
and new life.
The Maasai tribe reside in the part of Tanzania where tanzanite is mined. The
people of this tribe associate tanzanite with generating calmness and compassion.
The stone is also believed to aid in the creation of new life. It is thought that these
associations generate from the ideas the tribe have around the colour blue. The
beliefs held about the colour blue are also associated with tanzanite due to the
deep blue colour it holds.

9. 8. Tanzanite is rarer than diamonds.
Tanzanite is said to be 1000 times rarer than diamonds. This is due to the fact that
it is only found in one very small area of the world. The gemstone was created
millions of years ago by the same tectonic shift that created Mount Kilimanjaro and
the Great Rift Valley of Tanzania. This once in a lifetime event makes tanzanite one
of the world’s most sought-after gemstones. Some geologists refer to it as a ‘one
generation gemstone’ as it is theorized that with continued mining, there will be no
natural tanzanite left to mine within the next decade.

10. 9. There are many theories as to who first discovered tanzanite.
As with any great discovery, there are several theories as to who truly first
discovered tanzanite. The most popular and feasible is the tale of Manuel
De Souza. However, legend says that the gemstone was actually first
discovered by the native Maasai Cattle Herders after a fire. The fire turned
the brown zoisite crystals into deep blue-purple gemstones.

11. 10. Tanzanite has a trichroism which makes it unusual.
Some crystals, such as tanzanite, have trichroism. This means that the
crystals exhibit a perceptible difference in colour when looked at under
different lights, or from different angles. When tanzanite catches the light in
different ways, it can appear blue, purple, red, or even yellow. This unusual
property makes tanzanite all the more appealing for jewellers as the
finished item will be incredibly eye-catching.

12. Tanzanite Story
Tanzanite is the blue and violet variety of the mineral zoisite (a calcium aluminium
hydroxyl sorosilicate), caused by small amounts of vanadium. Tanzanite belongs to the
epidote mineral group. Tanzanite is only found in Tanzania, in a very small mining area
(approximately 7 km (4.3 mi) long and 2 km (1.2 mi) wide) near the Mererani Hills.
Tanzanite is noted for its remarkably strong trichroism, appearing alternately blue, violet and
burgundy depending on crystal orientation. Tanzanite can also appear differently when
viewed under different lighting conditions. The blues appear more evident when subjected to
fluorescent light and the violet hues can be seen readily when viewed under incandescent
illumination. In its rough state tanzanite is colored a reddish brown to clear, and it requires
heat treatment to remove the brownish "veil" and bring out the blue violet of the stone.

13. The gemstone was given the name 'tanzanite' by Tiffany & Co. after
Tanzania, the country in which it was discovered. The scientific name
of "blue-violet zoisite" was not thought to be sufficiently consumer
friendly by Tiffany's marketing department, who introduced it to the
market in 1968. In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose
tanzanite as a December birthstone, the first change to their birthstone
list since 1912.

14. Manufacturing Process Of
Tanzanite

15. 1. Rough Tanzanite From Zoisite Mineral
In its Rough form, tanzanite is extracted from blue zoisite mineral. This mineral
occurs in only one country in all world- Tanzania, in the foothills of Mt
Kilimanjaro.
When the rough tanzanite extracted from the ground, its hardness is around 6.5- 7.
When the rough tanzanite is extracted, its properties such as color, size, clarity, and
cut are determined, to indicate its worth and value. Through a dynamic processing,
optical and manual sorting system, rough tanzanite is prepared for its following
stages.

16. 2. Planning & Marking Tanzanite
The most crucial task in the creation of the perfect Tanzanite
gemstone, this is where tanzanite nurtured at the hands of a skilled
craftsman or a jeweler. The professional plans and decides, in
consultation with the concerned owners, the cut, weight and carat
of a precious gemstone. Tanzanite will then determine its market
value. The tanzanite is now ready to be cut.

17. 3. Making Of Pre-Form
Making of Pre-form is a simple process by which a rough tanzanite divided into
desired marked pieces. This marking is the done perpendicularly or against the
planes that the tanzanite rough needs to be the sawn i.e. 'cut.' As the rough
tanzanite begins to get cut as per the marking process, one side of the stone is
cut with a flat surface, called the table or flat central facet on top of the stone.

18. The orientation for further cutting and marking stone at this
stage, the stone is referred to as a pre-form, and you can see
what the final shape will be.
Once the process of pre-form is completed, the tanzanite stone is
sent back to the planning and marking department for checking
the results of procedures and then passed on to the next process of
Bruting.

19. 4. Bruting
In the process of Bruting, Tanzanite’s girdle is formed. It is called
rounding. The girdle is the surface which created around the thickest
part of the stone. The stone again set in a 'dop', which is then fixed to
the center of a lathe spinning at high speed. Using another tanzanite
stone set in a long 'bruting stick', the corners of the rough stone are
gradually rounded off until the spinning tanzanite is perfectly round at
its thickest part. After this process, once again the quality check is done.
If the tanzanite finds itself suitable, it moves on to the polishing
department, the last of all processes.

20. 5. Polishing
When the tanzanite is polished, it also undergoes through faceting. Polishing is the art of giving the
final touches to the tanzanite. This process also requires an enormous amount of concentration on
the part of the jeweler- craftsman, as it here that the tanzanite given its much-required grandeur.
This step makes the tanzanite into a Faceted pieces. The last steps in the
manufacturing process of the tanzanite from where on it goes to the grading
department. The grading department is where the tanzanite receives its grading
as per the GIA standards.

21. COLOR
1.Color depth ranges from pale to brilliant,
which indicate a higher proportion
of blue or violet hues.
2.If a tanzanite’s color is a deep
saturated blue, then it is
considered more valuable.
3.The deeper the color, the rarer and
costlier the tanzanite.
4.Pale tones are more affordable.

22. CLARITY
1.Clarity refers to any natural defect or inclusion present
in the tanzanite gemstone.
2.Tanzanite clarity ranges from heavily included to
flawless.
3.If the stone is completely flawless it is considered
more valuable.

23. CUT
1.Cut refers to various angles and proportion of finished
gemstone.
2.A brilliant cut has properly proportioned facets and
perfect symmetry.
3.Tanzanite is available in various shapes, but cushion
and oval cuts are most common.

24. CARAT
1.The carat term is used to measure a tanzanite
gemstone’s weight.
2.The color of tanzanite appears less saturated in
smaller size.
3.Tanzanite gems must be above 5 carats in weight to
have fine color.

25. Tanzanite
1.Bondi Blue Tanzanite
2.Natural Green Tanzanite

26. 1.Bondi Blue Tanzanite
Bondi blue tanzanite is one of the
rarest varieties of this treasured
gemstone with mixed shades
of blue and green.
Tanzanite's incredible rarity and
beauty have skyrocketed it to
the highest ranks of the gemstone
kingdom.

27. 2.Natural Green Tanzanite
One of the best kept secrets
of the tanzanite trade is the
exceptionally rare occurrence
of fancy, colored tanzanite,
like natural green tanzanite.

28. TANZANITE - A PRECIOUS GEM
A gem is only classified as precious, if it exhibits 3 essential traits:
. beauty
. rarity
. durability
Beautiful tanzanite is durable, with Moh’s Hardness ranking of 6.5 to 7
out of 10. This single-source gemstone is more than 1000 times rarer
than diamond.
Tanzanite is a prized possession in every sense.

29. THANK YOU
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