What does tanzanite look like?

Tanzanite is a rare mineral, a variety of zoisite. When it was first discovered in Tanzania, it was mistaken for a sapphire. Gems are indeed very similar in shade, but, as it turned out, they have a lot of differences. What does natural tanzanite look like, which has an unusually amazing sapphire color?

Visual qualities and features of tanzanite

Basically, tanzanite, which lay deep underground, has a brown or green color. In order to give the mineral a deep blue-violet color, it is exposed to high temperatures and an unusual color range is obtained. But it cannot be said that a similar shade can be obtained only with the help of heat treatment. Very many ultramarine or sapphire blue stones can be found close to the surface of the earth, which have acquired this color due to exposure to sunlight or burning lava. It is generally accepted that the larger the gem in size, the richer and brighter its shade.

Tanzanite is characterized by strong pleochroism - a property of the mineral, in which you can observe different color overflows depending on the viewing angle. Cat-eye tanzanites are also widely known.



Tanzanites with alexandrite effect are highly valued - if an ultramarine gem is placed in artificial light in daylight, it will turn purple.

Tanzanite has perfect transparency. The luster of the mineral is glassy, ​​and the chips of the crystal may have a mother-of-pearl line.

Given the softness of the stone, not every jeweler undertakes to process it. However, when cutting, they try to enhance its blue-violet hue. The same specimens that nature did not endow with the depth and saturation of the blue color are heated to 500 ° C - under the influence of temperature, the blue in tanzanite becomes brighter.