Tanzanite - The Mystical Gem

African Legend

Tanzania is a country rich in folklore and legend. At the time of tanzanite's discovery, local Maasai communities wove bold and colorful stories around the creation of this exceptional stone. They told that the land was set ablaze by a bolt of lightning, and that the heat from this magic 'fire from the sky' transformed crystals on the ground into shimmering blue-violet gems.

When the last cinders dissolved into the earth and the thick smoke settled, awestruck tribesmen filled their pouches with the mystical stones, intuitively knowing that these jewels would bring a better life.

Tanzanite is an extraordinary gemstone. It occurs in only one place worldwide. Its blue, surrounded by a fine hint of purple, is a wonderful colour. Thanks to its unusual aura and the help of the New York jeweller's Tiffany, it has rapidly become one of the most coveted gemstones in the world.

It is named after the East African state of Tanzania, the only place in the world where it has been found. Africa? Does anyone think of gemstones when they hear that name? Well they should, because Africa is a continent which provides the world with a multitude of truly magnificent gemstones, like tanzanite for example. On its discovery in 1967, it was enthusiastically celebrated by the specialists as the 'gemstone of the 20th century'. They held their breath in excitement as they caught sight of the first deep-blue crystals which had been found in the Merelani Hills near Arusha in the north of Tanzania. Millions of years ago, metamorphic schists, gneisses and quartzites formed impressive, flat-topped inselbergs on a vast plain in the shadow of Kilimanjaro. The precious crystals grew in deposits on the inside of these unusual elevations. For a long, long time they were hidden from the eye of Man, until one day some passing Masai shepherds noticed some sparkling crystals lying in the sun and took them along with them.

In Merelani today, the search is carried on for the coveted crystals in several, smallish mines, in some cases using modern methods. As a rule, only small grains are found, but now and again the mineworkers succeed in fetching out a larger crystal - to the joy of the mine owners and that of the large number of tanzanite fans.

The tanzanite trade is in the hands of many licensed merchants, mostly on a small scale, who have, over the decades, built up stable, trusting business relationships with gemstone companies in India, Germany, Israel and the USA. An estimated 90 per cent of all tanzanite merchants are official members of the International Colored Gemstone Association ICA, and are thus bound by the high ethical standards of that organisation. In this way, this exclusive gemstone is not subject to trade via dubious channels, but instead, in spite of its rarity, passed on along reputable trade routes to established cutting-centres and subsequently to major jewellers all round the world.