Found in one place on Earth. Supply declining. The opportunity window is closing.
Tanzanite exists in a single deposit near Mount Kilimanjaro in Northern Tanzania — roughly 7km by 2km of mineralised rock. When that deposit is exhausted, there will be no more. Trichroic — showing blue, violet, and burgundy at different viewing angles — it is one of the most optically complex gems in existence.
Tanzanite was unknown until 1967, when a Maasai tribesman named Ali Juuyawatu stumbled upon a cluster of transparent blue-violet crystals near the village of Merelani. Tiffany & Co. acquired the rights and named the stone after its country of origin — a masterstroke of commercial positioning. Henry Platt of Tiffany described it as the most beautiful blue stone discovered in 2000 years. Within a decade it had become one of the world's most commercially significant gems.
Tanzanite's trichroism creates design opportunities that single-colour stones can't offer. A stone cut to show blue from the top catches violet through the pavilion — a colour shift that becomes visible as the wearer moves. I design settings to exploit this: open galleries, lightly obstructing halos, prong placement that reveals rather than conceals. The stone does the work; the setting enables it.
The finest tanzanites show deep, vivid blue-violet with strong colour saturation and excellent trichroism. Avoid stones with grey, brown, or green undertones. Larger stones (above 5 carats) show colour more dramatically. Almost all commercial tanzanite is heated to remove brown overtones — this is standard and accepted. Unheated tanzanite with good colour is exceptionally rare.
From the Métamorphism collection
Tanzanite sits between sapphire and amethyst in the colour spectrum
I source stones individually and can discuss what's currently available. Every piece is designed around the specific gem.
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