Tanzanite, the birthstone for December, is the ideal stone to celebrate new beginnings

Tanzanite’s mineral name is zoisite, which belongs to the epidote group in mineralogy. As one of the birthstones for December, tanzanite is full of mystery and is considered the ideal stone to celebrate new beginnings. In the early days, tanzanite was used as a decorative material, and in the 60s of the 20th century, blue-purple zoisite was found in Tanzania and named it “Tanzanite”.

Before talking about tanzanite in depth, the editor will first bring you a small easter egg. The “Heart of the Ocean” worn by the heroine in “Titanic” is actually not a sapphire, but a beautiful tanzanite. Tanzanite does look more like sapphire to the naked eye, and in the retail market, there are some people who see tanzanite as a “flat replacement” of sapphire.

Bulgari tanzanite pendant

Tanzanite has a hardness of 6-7 on the Mohs scale, and usually gemstones with a hardness of more than 7 on the Mohs scale will have better durability. Therefore, you should be careful when wearing tanzanite, as long as you don’t bump into it, it won’t leave too many marks.

Tiffany premium tanzanite brooch

Tanzanite has a similar hue to sapphire and has an advantageous price, so if you like blue gemstones and want to keep costs under control, then tanzanite is a great choice. Below, please follow the editor to see how to choose tanzanite!

How to pick a tanzanite?

The first is color. Tanzanite is a versatile beauty in gemstones, it is rich in color, and has a strong trichroism, green tanzanite polychromism is manifested as blue, purple red, greenish yellow; The pleochroism of brown tanzanite is characterized by green, purple and light blue; Whereas, the pleochroism of yellow-green tanzanite is characterized by dark blue, yellow-green, and purple. However, the tanzanite in the consumer market is mostly light to moderate blue-purple.

Next, let’s talk about clarity. The clarity of tanzanite is one of the important factors to consider when investing in tanzanite. Gemstone inclusions refer to the mineral inclusions and cracks that exist inside the gemstone, and the number and distribution of gemstone inclusions determine the clarity of the gemstone. If there are visible impurities in it, the value of tanzanite will be greatly reduced, especially for light-colored tanzanite, and the impurities will look more prominent.

Chopin Tanzanite Ring

Another factor that affects the value of a gemstone is the cut. A good cut allows every facet of a gemstone to reflect off and allow for better fire. Therefore, the brilliance of a gemstone is also inseparable from the blessing of a high-quality cut.

Finally, there is the carat weight. All else being equal, the larger the gemstone, the more collectible it is, and tanzanite is no exception. Tanzanite weighing more than 5 carats will be more collectible.

Van Cleef & Arpels tanzanite brooch

Tanzanite has many advantages, first of all, its color is close to that of sapphire, which adds a lot of points to it; Second, high-quality large-grained tanzanite is relatively common compared to large-grained sapphires. Therefore, tanzanite still has a certain collection potential, after all, its elf-like blue color is very popular with jewelry lovers.