The Jewelry World Weblog

Fast Facts

-   The mineral zoisite was discovered around 1805 in the Austrian area by a Baron for whom it was named. It was usually brown in color, often nearly opaque.

-   The discovery by accident of the tanzanite version, in the late 1960’s was a great surprise in Tanzania Africa, where it was first thought to be sapphire crystals.

-   The name Tanzanite was coined by Tiffany who had first and exclusive rights to the pretty blue violet mineral for many years. 

-   Wearing a well-cut Tanzanite communicates self-confidence, individuality, and maturity. 

-   Its brilliant color and its exclusive origin in Tanzania combine to make Tanzanite a unique and highly sought after gemstone.

Characteristics

Tanzanite is a variety of zoisite. It has naturally occurring shades of blue, green, yellow, pink, brown and khaki but virtually all gemstone quality crystals are heat treated to produce the highly valued shades of sapphire blue, amethyst and blue violet. On Mohs’ scale of hardness, tanzanite is 6.5-7. The prime source of all the world’s tanzanite is in Tanzania near Arusha.

ColorTanzanite has naturally occurring shades of blue, green, yellow, pink, brown and khaki but virtually all gemstone quality crystals are heat treated to produce the highly valued shades of sapphire blue, amethyst and blue violet.

One of the Newest and Bluest of Gems… Tanzanite is the “new kid on the block” of the gemstone kingdom. Discovered in Tanzania in 1967 and introduced to the American market in 1969, tanzanite has catapulted to incredible popularity in a very short amount of time. It was named in honor of the country in which it was found and introduced in the United States for the first time by Tiffany & Co. Available in colors ranging from blue to violet to purple, few gems can rival tanzanite’s depth of hue and purity of color.

Angara’s exquisite collection of fine tanzanite includes tanzanite gemstones in varying shapes and sizes in all ravishing tanzanite colors like light violet, medium violet, deep violet, light blue and more. Choose a tanzanite stone from our exquisite collection and design your own tanzanite jewelry.

Moissanite created by Charles & Colvard is a stunning new jewel that has fire, brilliance, luster and incredible hardness unlike any jewel you’ve ever seen. Moissanite was originally born from a star. However, naturally occurring crystals are too small for use in jewelry. Using an uncommon combination of art and science, moissanite is now available on earth!
 Born From a Star
 
 This stunning jewel has a brilliant past. Fifty thousand years ago a meteorite crashed into the Arizona desert creating what is now known as “Meteor Crater.” Fragments of this meteorite were scattered across the desert.Hidden in these fragments was a brilliant secret waiting to be discovered.
 
 Discovered on earth
 
 In 1893, Nobel-Prize winning scientist Henri Moissan began studying fragments of this meteorite from nearby Diablo Canyon. In these fragments Dr. Moissan discovered minute quantities of a shimmering new mineral, with fire and brilliance never before seen on earth.
 
 After extensive research, Dr. Moissan concluded that this mineral was made of silicon carbide. In 1905, this mineral was named moissanite, in his honor.
 
 Despite this amazing discovery, since naturally occurring quantities of moissanite are so minute, it would be another century before this stunning mineral would emerge as the brilliant jewel it is today.
 
 From the mind of a scientist
 
 In the late 1980’s, inspired by Dr. Moissan’s discovery, a North Carolina company named CREE developed a proprietary process for producing large single crystals of moissanite.
 
 In the summer of 1995, a master diamond cutter observed samples of moissanite and suggested that properly cut crystals would make a brilliant new jewel.
 
 Within days, scientists from CREE and Charles & Colvard began a three year research project to bring the fire and brilliance of moissanite jewels to earth.
 
 And the eye of a Artist
 
 Using an uncommon combination of art and science, moissanite created by Charles & Colvard was introduced in the summer of 1998. Achieving, self-confident women in over 60 countries now wear this brilliant new jewel. Welcome to a world made brighter by moissanite, now available on earth
 
 Source: http://www.moissaniteonthenet.com/level.itml/icOid/184