TANZANITE
Tanzanite jewellery has become some of the most desired jewellery in the world. Tanzanite rings, earrings and necklaces featuring these tantalizing gemstonesare extremely fashionable, and absolutely adored by those who own them!
HISTORY & ORIGIN
Tanzanite was discovered in 1967 and named after its country of origin. The popularity of Tanzanite is global, yet it is found in only one location in the world: The Merelani Hills of Tanzania, resting in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro.
Tanzanite is said to be one thousand times rarer than diamonds and to be the colour “that a sapphire would love to be”. Tanzanite is a precious gift from the dark depths of the earth – an irresistible stone with a stylish future.
TANZANITE GRADING
Tanzanite jewellery is created with stones which have been cut, polished and graded. The gemstones in Tanzanite rings, earrings and necklaces undergoTanzanite grading, just as diamonds are submitted for diamond grading, which involves assessing the carat, cut, colour and clarity of each stone.
Colour
Tanzanite is trichroic, which means that it displays 3 different colours when viewed from different directions. These colours are blue, violet and bronze or red. When Tanzanite is found in the ground, the bronze colour dominates.
Gentle heating enhances the colour that already exists within the stone, changing the brownish-red shades to Tanzanite’s distinctive blue-violet colour. Heat treatment cannot create colour and it will not improve the quality of the stone.
Tanzanite can show a dominance of intensity of either Blue or Violet or a combination thereof. There are five categories of saturation, VIVID being the darkest colour on the grading scale and PALE being the lightest.
| Colour Hue | Saturation | Colour Hue |
| Blue-VIOLET | VIVID | Violet-BLUE |
| Blue-VIOLET | INTENSE | Violet-BLUE |
| Blue-VIOLET | MODERATE | Violet-BLUE |
| Blue-VIOLET | LIGHT | Violet-BLUE |
| Blue-VIOLET | PALE | Violet-BLUE |
Clarity
Clarity refers to the natural inclusions within the gemstone.
| LC | Loupe Clean |
| EC | Eye Clean |
| LI | Lightly Included |
| MI | Moderately Included |
| HI | Heavily Included |
Cut
Cut refers to the shape, facet pattern and proportions of the Tanzanite. A well-cut gemstone will reflect light back from within itself creating the brilliance and colour play that makes Tanzanite jewellery so unique and desirable. Tanzanite is fashioned in various styles and shapes such as oval, square cushion, princess, trilliant, heart, octagon, round and pear shape.
The final polish, symmetry and external characteristics are graded as finish:
| A | Excellent |
| B | Very Good |
| C | Good |
| D | Fair |
| E | Poor |
Carat
Tanzanite’s weight is measured in carats. As a Tanzanite increases in carat, so will the visibility of colour and possible inclusions, although a larger weight does not guarantee a better quality and colour. There are no fixed cutting proportions governing Tanzanite and two seemingly identical stones can have different carat weights if their depth varies.
If you are looking for custom jewellery design from South Africa, Petra Jewellery Design offers gemstone, gold and platinum jewellery design services and can assist with diamond grading and Tanzanite grading. Contact Petra for more information.
