Some Facts About Tanzanite

Tanzanite is a variety blue / purple in the mineral zoisite. It was discovered in the hills of northern Tanzania Meralani in 1967 near the town of Arusha. Tanzania is a country in East Africa. Tanzanite is the most commonly used as a gemstone and is known for its exceptionally strong trichroism (the ability to display three colors), appearing sapphire blue, purple and burgundy depending on the viewing angle. Tanzanite in its raw state is usually a reddish brown color and is a rare find.

Manuel D'Souza, a gold prospector, who lives in Arusha, found fragments of crystals of bright blue jewel and blue-violet on a ridge near Mererani, about 40 km south of Arusha. It decided that the mineral was olivine, but soon realized that it was not, so he caled dumortierite "non-blue gem mineral. Finally, Gemological Institute of America has correctly identified the new gem as a variety of the mineral zoisite. Correct Identification was also made by mineralogists at Harvard University, the British Museum, and the University of Heidelberg, but the first person to get the right was the identification Ian McCloud, a Tanzanian government geologist based in Dodoma.

Originally called "blue zoisite" was called as part of the campaign, Tiffany & Co., which took advantage of a rarity in the month of February, and then only in Tanzania, but who believe that the "blue zoisite" (which could be pronounced as "suicide blue") did not sell well. From 1967-1972, about two million carats were tanzanite is mined in Tanzania. The mines were later nationalized by the government of Tanzania.

The largest faceted tanzanite is 737.81 carats. Another of the most famous 242-carat tanzanite weight is great "Queen of Kilimanjaro." It is in a tiara and accompanied by brilliant-cut tsavorite garnets 803 and 913 brilliant-cut diamonds. Because tanzanite is relatively smooth, is not generally used in necklaces and earrings, so the tiara is a true rarity. The tiara is currently on display in the gallery of gold and precious stones of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The exhibition is the private collection of Michael Scott, who was the first CEO of Apple Computers.

Normal primary and secondary colors are blue and tanzanite purple, and purple. Trichroic Tanzanite is a gemstone, which means that the light enters the stone is divided into three parts, each of which contains a portion of the visible spectrum. After heating, the dichroic Tanzanite. Dichroic colors are red and blue.

With the exception of a few stones were found near the surface in the early days of discovery, universal Tanzanite is heat treated to produce a range of colors from blue-violet to blue purple. Since heat treatment is universal, has no effect on the price, and precious stones are supposed to be finished heat treated. Rarely, tanzanite is found in other colors, green is the rarest, though technically called "green zoisite" instead of tanzanite. These, of course, be even more expensive than precious tanzanite.