Tanzanite Information
True Story On How Tanzanite Was Found
It was said that on the month of July of 1967, one of the local tribesman by the name of Ali Juuyawatu noticed an attractive bluish piece of translucent crystal in Mount Kilimanjaro and decided to take it with him. He then showed it to Manuel D. Souza, who is a tailor and is interested in knowing about rubies in that area. He incorrectly termed it as peridot at first look and then corrected himself upon realizing that his judgment was incorrect. Therefore, he took samples and termed it as "dumortierite" and classified it as a non-gem material.
D. Souza eventually consulted with John Saul, a geologist and wholesaler of gemstones who was in Mount Kenya at that time. Disputing the early claim of D. Souza, he forwarded the discovered crystal to Hyman Saul, who happened to be not only the vice president of Saks Fifth Avenue, but also his father. Upon receiving them, Hyman Saul went to Henry Platt of Tiffany and Company to show it whom coined the term tanzanite. Further experimentations and observation led to the conclusion that it originated from the raw mineral soizite and is highly valued due to its high trichroism property.
Further observation made way to the announcement of Tiffany and Company's marketing launch featuring tanzanite as its primary feature. This event marked the popularity of this gemstone which served as enough reason for the United States Gem Associations to award it as the birthstone for the month of December. These changes were made in 2002 updating the standard birthstone list from 1912.
Where Tanzanite Is Mined
By nature, this gemstone is very rare since it could be found only in the Merelani hills nearing Arusha and Moshi in Northern Tanzania which only extends up to four miles. Because of this, recent efforts are done in order to ensure the security of the Tanzanian cutting industry by having the exporting of unprocessed tanzanite banned. Not only did this help ensure inward flow of profits but also encouraged local production of gem stones.
Colors
Experts base the deep dark blue hue of the gemstone as a basis for grading its value. In order to produce different shades of blue, manufacturers utilize heat treatments. There are also some rare instances wherein a green tanzanite is available. Another development made in order to lessen the coarse property of this gems tone is to apply a certain coating on its surface.
It is therefore not surprising that the demand for this gem stone has been on the rise recently due to the very beautiful bluish sparkle that it has. Currently, the tanzanite is one of the most popular gemstones produces in South Africa and is having great fans from distant countries like Australia, China and India. The popularity of this gemstone has become so sudden and immense that it has even outsold diamond in many occasions.
It was said that on the month of July of 1967, one of the local tribesman by the name of Ali Juuyawatu noticed an attractive bluish piece of translucent crystal in Mount Kilimanjaro and decided to take it with him. He then showed it to Manuel D. Souza, who is a tailor and is interested in knowing about rubies in that area. He incorrectly termed it as peridot at first look and then corrected himself upon realizing that his judgment was incorrect. Therefore, he took samples and termed it as "dumortierite" and classified it as a non-gem material.
D. Souza eventually consulted with John Saul, a geologist and wholesaler of gemstones who was in Mount Kenya at that time. Disputing the early claim of D. Souza, he forwarded the discovered crystal to Hyman Saul, who happened to be not only the vice president of Saks Fifth Avenue, but also his father. Upon receiving them, Hyman Saul went to Henry Platt of Tiffany and Company to show it whom coined the term tanzanite. Further experimentations and observation led to the conclusion that it originated from the raw mineral soizite and is highly valued due to its high trichroism property.
Further observation made way to the announcement of Tiffany and Company's marketing launch featuring tanzanite as its primary feature. This event marked the popularity of this gemstone which served as enough reason for the United States Gem Associations to award it as the birthstone for the month of December. These changes were made in 2002 updating the standard birthstone list from 1912.
Where Tanzanite Is Mined
By nature, this gemstone is very rare since it could be found only in the Merelani hills nearing Arusha and Moshi in Northern Tanzania which only extends up to four miles. Because of this, recent efforts are done in order to ensure the security of the Tanzanian cutting industry by having the exporting of unprocessed tanzanite banned. Not only did this help ensure inward flow of profits but also encouraged local production of gem stones.
Colors
Experts base the deep dark blue hue of the gemstone as a basis for grading its value. In order to produce different shades of blue, manufacturers utilize heat treatments. There are also some rare instances wherein a green tanzanite is available. Another development made in order to lessen the coarse property of this gems tone is to apply a certain coating on its surface.
It is therefore not surprising that the demand for this gem stone has been on the rise recently due to the very beautiful bluish sparkle that it has. Currently, the tanzanite is one of the most popular gemstones produces in South Africa and is having great fans from distant countries like Australia, China and India. The popularity of this gemstone has become so sudden and immense that it has even outsold diamond in many occasions.
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