Tanzanite is a beautiful and valuable stone most often used in jewelry. It has a lovely blue or purple color and is prized by jewelers worldwide. If you’re looking for a way to express your love and appreciation for someone, tanzanite stone jewelry can be a wonderful and thoughtful gift.
Reasons to Love Tanzanite
But there are many more reasons to love this Gemstone than that. Here are five things to love about tanzanite:
1. Extreme Rarity
It’s scarce! Tanzanite is only found in one place on earth: Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. And it’s only found in one region of the mountain. Early explorers thought it was sapphire! The stone was only discovered in 1967, so it hasn’t been around for very long either. This makes it incredibly special and unique.
The stone is 1000 times rarer than diamonds. It is only found in one place on earth: the Merelani Hills in Tanzania. It’s so rare that it’s expected to be mined out entirely by 2040.
2. Beauty in Its Trichroism
Tanzanite is a beautiful stone that comes in shades of blue, purple, and violet, depending on how it is cut and polished.
It looks like two colors at once! Because of its chemical composition, tanzanite gemstone looks both blue and purple simultaneously. This means that people wearing tanzanite jewelry can choose whether they see their gem as blue or purple depending on what they’re wearing and their mood that day.
3. Available in Many Colors
Tanzanite can be found in blue, violet, burgundy, green, yellow, and brown. Its color can be altered through heat treatment which gives it its violet-blue tones. The more intense the violet hues are, the more valuable the stone is.
Tanzanite is a perfect complement to diamonds and other colored stones. Set with white gold or platinum, it will make any necklace or bracelet pop! When set with yellow gold or rose gold, the stone creates an understated elegance with which you’ll fall in love!
4. Astrological Benefits
A blue stone found only in Tanzania, it is believed to have healing effects on the mind and spirit. The stone is said to help eliminate fears, stress, and anxiety. Tanzanite Stone is a calming crystal that helps you get through difficult times in your life. It also helps clear your mind to see what’s most important. It helps calm nerves and eases feelings of anger or annoyance.
If you were born in December, tanzanite is your birthstone. It’s also an alternative birthstone for those born in February, April, and December, so there are many opportunities to enjoy this gemstone!
5. Exceptional Clarity
A tanzanite gemstone’s clarity is measured based on the number of visible inclusions and their sizes, positions, and colors. The clearer the gemstone, the higher its value.
Tanzanite gemstones are often described as “eye clean,” which means they have virtually no inclusions visible to the naked eye. This means a stone with exceptional clarity can sell for thousands of dollars more than one with more visible inclusions.
Reasons to Hate Tanzanite
Tanzanite is a beautiful gemstone that can be worn with pretty much anything. It’s also one of the most coveted gemstones in the world. However, it’s not all good news. There are some things you should be aware of before buying Tanzanite gemstone.
1. Tanzanite is Expensive
Tanzanites are rare and expensive, so they’re not always available in the market for everyone who wants to buy them at their price point or budget level; this means that people on lower budgets (or those who just like other gemstones) might feel like they’re missing out on something special when purchasing these types of gems because they won’t get as many benefits from owning one-of-a-kind pieces as someone who has more money available would be able to enjoy.
The cost of Tanzanite is usually between $250-and $350 per carat. If you want a 1-carat ring, it would cost anywhere from $300-$400. This is just for the stone and doesn’t include the metal (usually gold) or other materials used to make the ring.
2. Tanzanite is Fragile
You have to be careful with your Tanzanite jewelry because the gemstone can break if dropped on a hard surface or knocked against something solid like a doorframe or table leg. If this happens, you’ll need to get it repaired, which can be very expensive since replacing broken stones involves cutting new ones from rough material (which isn’t cheap). This fragility makes tanzanites vulnerable to chipping, cracking, or breaking in jewelry such as earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings.
3. It’s Only Found in One Place
While diamonds can be found all over the world and rubies are native to Burma, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and more, tanzanite stone is only found in the Merelani Hills of Tanzania. And while this makes for an interesting conversation piece, it’s also problematic because the stone can’t be mined anywhere else when the supply begins running low.
4. The Color Can Be Unstable
It gets its color from trace amounts of vanadium, making it unstable when exposed to heat or light for long periods. Over time, tanzanite will degrade if left in the sun; your tanzanite ring may fade if you leave it out on your countertop.
5. Tanzanite Mining is Illegal and Destructive
Tanzanite mining in Tanzania involves digging huge pits into the earth, devastating impacts on the surrounding ecosystem, and displaced local families. But while Tanzania can make a profit off of its primary mining industry, there is a dark side to this business.
While it may seem like the worst part of illegal mining, the treatment of miners by their employers is the worst part about tanzanite stones. Workers on a tanzanite mine site can be expected to work long hours without breaks or proper safety equipment in unsafe conditions with no pay.
How to Buy Genuine Tanzanite Gemstones Online
Despite tanzanite’s rarity, it can be purchased online at several reputable dealers, including GemPundit. When buying online, look for reviews and testimonials from other customers to make sure you’re buying your stone from a reputable dealer. It’s also essential to know what you’re buying: get information about the carat size, color grade, and clarity grade before making a purchase.