Fun Facts about Tanzanite: December's Birthstone
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December is one of the only months with multiple birthstones, including zircon, turquoise, and tanzanite. Today, we’ll highlight one of these with some interesting facts!
Here are some fun facts about tanzanite!
Here are some fun facts about tanzanite!
- Tanzanite is a birthstone for December and the gemstone of the 24th wedding anniversary.
- Tanzanite rates as a 6 to 7 on Mohs scale of hardness
- Discovered during the 20th century, tanzanite is relatively new to the world of gemstones.
- Tanzanite is a bluish-violet or violet-blue variety of zoisite and is only found in one place on earth - Tanzania!
- With a single country of origin, Tanzanite is rarer than diamond.
- Tanzanite displays pleochroism, which means that it displays different colors from different directions. Most tanzanite gemstones are heat-treated to achieve the bright blue or violet colors found in fine tanzanite.
- Tanzanite was initially found in the 1960s in the Merelani Hills of Tanzania. At first, miners hoped that they had stumbled upon abundant sapphire deposits. Later, they realized they had discovered a gemstone new to the market. Tiffany & Co. became tanzanite’s leading distributor, launching a marketing campaign that quickly skyrocketed the gemstone’s popularity. Tanzanite remains a unique and highly treasured gemstone today.
- The highest quality tanzanite gemstone can resemble high-quality sapphires with their violetish blue color.
- The most sought-after tanzanites are those with the deepest color saturation. However, lighter-colored tanzanite has a unique look and is still highly prized.
- Tanzanite will appear bluer in daylight and more violet in warmer lighting.
- Some people believe that tanzanite is an excellent investment because it is only found in one small area.
- In 2020, miners found the two largest tanzanites ever discovered. The gemstones were 11.3lbs and 20.4lbs. The owner of the mining company sold the gemstones to the government for the equivalent of $3.3 million!
Shop our collection of tanzanite here.
