The African queen, the tanzanite, was born in 1967 in her country, Tanzania. It was the famous brand Tiffany & Co of New York that introduced her to the world in 1969.

A variety of zoisite, it is found in shades of blue, sometimes cashmere blue, sometimes very purple blue (almost similar to amethyst), or light blue. The blue is not quite the same depending on whether the stone is under one type of lighting or another. These different shades of blue can be explained by the strong pleochroism of tanzanite, i.e. depending on the direction of observation, especially with the help of a small instrument called the dichroscope, three different colors can be observed: blue, purplish pink and greenish yellow. Most tanzanite is actually a brown zoisite that has been heated to turn blue.

It is said that pieces of brown zoisite that had been exposed to the high heat of a lightning bushfire in the Merelani Mountains near Arusha on the border with Kenya turned a beautiful blue colour and this is how blue zoisite was discovered.

Beautiful coloured tanzanites over 10 carats are not uncommon and they make beautiful centers in pearl necklaces for example; It is more difficult to get hold of small stones, between 1 and 5 carats of a velvety blue. Too often, either the stone is too pale or too pink.

When tanzanite first appeared on the market, it was seen as an alternative to sapphire. Indeed, for an intense blue, tanzanite is much cheaper than a sapphire. Today, tanzanite is a stone that is chosen for its own sake.

The closer the blue of tanzanite is to the blue of sapphire, without a shade of purple or pink, the higher its price. At the time of purchase, tanzanite will be observed under several light sources.

As tanzanite is a relatively fragile stone, it is preferably used to make earrings, pendants, or brooches.