Why Is Tanzanite Rare
A tanzanite’s rarity is one of its most valued virtues, complementing its color and brilliance to perfection. If you aren’t one to buy a gem for its beauty alone and tend to look for a good investment, blue tanzanite is an ideal choice. Not only is it available only in a few mile radius, its mining capacity also happens to be depleting greatly and rapidly and it is said that only 15 years or so are left.
While man made tanzanites have flooded the market as a cheap replacement, the original natural tanzanite is rare as it is only available at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a peak in Tanzania (East Africa). Mt. Kilimanjaro, famous also as it is the highest peak in the world when measured from sea-level, also being a lone volcanic mountain. Geologists have done extensive research and concluded that it is near impossible for such perfect geological, chemical or compositional elements to ever occur again in the same place, making this a one off occurrence and all the more precious.
While man made tanzanites have flooded the market as a cheap replacement, the original natural tanzanite is rare as it is only available at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a peak in Tanzania (East Africa). Mt. Kilimanjaro, famous also as it is the highest peak in the world when measured from sea-level, also being a lone volcanic mountain. Geologists have done extensive research and concluded that it is near impossible for such perfect geological, chemical or compositional elements to ever occur again in the same place, making this a one off occurrence and all the more precious.
Discovered by tribesmen in 1967, but 1968 Tiffany and Co. had adopted this blue zoisite as their own – even monopolizing mining rights for a good two decades before they allowed others to enter. This monopoly in mining and distribution in the late nineteen hundreds and early two thousands also impacted it rarity and availability.
Diamonds are a thousand times more easily available than tanzanites, plus they are higher on the Moh scale. Supplementing its rarity, the tanzanite isn’t very high up on the Moh scale which makes it easily breakable while mining and faceting. This makes it even harder for a high quality stone to come into the market.
Diamonds are a thousand times more easily available than tanzanites, plus they are higher on the Moh scale. Supplementing its rarity, the tanzanite isn’t very high up on the Moh scale which makes it easily breakable while mining and faceting. This makes it even harder for a high quality stone to come into the market.
If you think this is incredible, imagine how hard it is to actually find a high grade tanzanite! The top quality AAA and AAA+ gems are literally the rarest of rare to find. Most blue tanzanites you see in the market are treated in five hundred degrees to intensify the blue, but the truly valuable ones are those that are naturally saturated hues. As tanzanite is a zoisite in composition, more often than not they are found in browns, pinks and greys.
Only less than 1% are organically heated by the earth’s temperatures to develop in those intense blue-purples that we cherish. The next most important factor in terms of rarity is the size of them. Let us say that the miner has crossed the barriers of finding tanzanites that are also naturally blue, what about how many carats the stone actually is? Often zoisite crystals will be brown or grey overall with slight tinges of blue or green, which isn’t good enough. So not only is finding a tanzanite itself infrequent, but also mining one of a reasonable size.
This factor has a great impact on price and value as carat is the most objective measure of a gemstone. For example a blue tanzanite which is two carats will not be double the price of a one carat tanzanite but rather four to five times. As the size of a tanzanite increases, so does its rarity and hence its price – not a proportionate increase but rather an exponential one.
The next time you have the opportunity to buy a tanzanite with such properties don’t turn it down!
Only less than 1% are organically heated by the earth’s temperatures to develop in those intense blue-purples that we cherish. The next most important factor in terms of rarity is the size of them. Let us say that the miner has crossed the barriers of finding tanzanites that are also naturally blue, what about how many carats the stone actually is? Often zoisite crystals will be brown or grey overall with slight tinges of blue or green, which isn’t good enough. So not only is finding a tanzanite itself infrequent, but also mining one of a reasonable size.
This factor has a great impact on price and value as carat is the most objective measure of a gemstone. For example a blue tanzanite which is two carats will not be double the price of a one carat tanzanite but rather four to five times. As the size of a tanzanite increases, so does its rarity and hence its price – not a proportionate increase but rather an exponential one.
The next time you have the opportunity to buy a tanzanite with such properties don’t turn it down!