Decembers birthstone is Tanzanite, learn a little more about the stone, and see a selection of tanzanite pieces we stock.
Tanzanite is a blue-violet variety of the mineral zoisite. It is named after Tanzania, where it was discovered. It stands out because of its “trichroism”, which means it appears to change colour from blue to violet when turned in the light.
Found in 1967 at the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro, tanzanite is a relatively new stone and is the purplish blue variety of zoisite. Zoisite is a species of gemstones which share the same chemical composition; zoisite’s composition is calcium aluminium silicate with hydroxyl.
Tanzanite gains its distinctive purplish blue colour from the trace elements of vanadium and chromium present within its structure. Tanzanite shows very strong pleochroism, which is an optical property and a term used by gemmologists to describe different colours seen in the same material when viewed from different directions.
Tanzanite & Diamond 22ct Yellow Gold Ring by Malcom Betts
A silver ring containing a rose cut tanzanite set in 18ct gold with three clear diamonds by Adele Taylor.
Silver, Tanzanite, diamond and 18ct ring by Margoni.