It is blue like sapphire, precious like an emerald, desired like a ruby: can you recognize a tanzanite, stone of the month of December? And can you tell why it is called that? Read here ♦
From the name, tanzanite, it is easy to guess the origin of the December birthstone: Tanzania, a country in Africa. Linked to the Masai culture since ancient times for its intense blue color, this gem is considered sacred by that warrior people. Its name is rather recent, because it was coined in 1969 by Henry Platt, vice-president of Tiffany, who launched it on the international market. Today tanzanite is highly appreciated for its intense color and is used by many jewelers.
![All about the tanzanite 1 Wallace Chan, anello con tanzanite da 22 carati, lapislazzuli, diamanti e zaffiri](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/WallaceChan.jpg)
Characteristics: from a mineral point of view it is a zoisite, while from a gemological point of view it is the unique color that makes it so interesting. In fact, each crystal has blue, red-violet and bronze tones depending on the amount of chrome and vanadium present in it. The shade of the stone is the combination of these three colors. Because the deep blue is the most valuable, at the time of cutting you look for the angle with the strongest blue color. But the operation must be done by expert hands, because it is a stone with a split in one direction and is easy to chip, as it is relatively soft. The different nuances are also linked to the type of light with which the stone is illuminated. The blues appear more evident when tanzanite is viewed under fluorescent light, the purple hues are more easily seen under incandescent lighting.
![All about the tanzanite 2 Cartier, bracciale Flora and Fauna con perline in tanzanite, becco in ossidiana, diamanti e occhi di acquamarina](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/cartier-flora-and-fauna-parrot-bracelet.jpg)
Color: its famous blue is inimitable. It has a purple tinge and then a purple that is lower than that of amethyst and superior to that of blue sapphire, to which it resembles, even if it is less harsh. All natural stones are heat treated to eliminate the most opaque gray, greenish or brownish tone. There are also yellow, green, orange, pink and bicolor blue-green specimens.
![All about the tanzanite 3 Leyla Abdollahhi, orecchini con tanzanite taglio trillion e diamanti](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Leyla.jpg)
Where it is found: tanzanite is extracted in the only deposit in the world, in the Simanjiro area, in the Manyara region, in Tanzania. It is a mining area only 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) long and 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) wide. This is also why the stone is considered very valuable and quite expensive.
![All about the tanzanite 4 Louis Vuitton, bracciale Orangerie des Tuileries. Il blu viola della tanzanite rappresenta le maestose fontane dei giardini delle Tuileries di Parigi e le tsavoriti la vegetazione.](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/LV-Orangerie-des-Tuileries.jpg)
Evaluation: usually the stone is without inclusions visible to the naked eye and is not even noticed with the magnifying glass: it generally has a good degree of purity. Two important aspects because transparency and absence of inclusions enhance its color.
![All about the tanzanite 5 Margherita Burgener, orecchini con tanzanite taglio goccia e diamanti](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/orecchiniMargherita-Burgener.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 6 Anello con tanzanite di 35,42 carati, calcedonio e diamanti montati su titanio di Wallace Chan](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/anello-wallace-chan.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 7 Botta gioielli, anello con tanzanite, rubini e zaffiri gialli](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/tanzanite-rubini-e-zaffiri-gialli.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 8 Orecchini in oro giallo, tanzanite (44,72 carati), zaffiri rosa, perle naturali, diamanti](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/oro-giallo-18-carati-tanzanite-4472-ct-zaffiro-rosa-701-carati-perla-naturale-508-ct-diamante.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 9 Sofragem, anello con tanzanite cabochon e diamanti](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Tanzanite-Beauty.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 10 Mattioli, anello in oro rosa della collezione Rêve_r](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/MAN137R032TW.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 11 Tiffany, bracciale Peacok, con tanzanite ovale di 19.41carati, tormaline e diamanti](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Tiffany.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 12 Pasquale Bruni collana Ghirlanda con tanzanite](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/PBruniGhirlanda.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 13 Anello di Dior con tanzanite](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/AnelloDior.jpg)
![All about the tanzanite 14 Orecchini con tanzaniti e diamanti](https://gioiellis.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/tanzaniti-e-diamanti.jpg)