Why Buy Tanzanite?
It’s rare, it’s beautiful and has only been found in one place on earth. The official birthstone for December and known as the gemstone of our generation.
Is now a good time to buy? And where would you even begin shopping for Tanzanite?
Tanzanite is brand spanking new to the colored stone galaxy. Discovered in 1967 by a Masai tribesman, it’s said he stumbled upon a cluster of highly transparent, intense violet-to-blue crystals piercing out of the earth in Northern Tanzania.
His jaw dropped! He thought, at first, he had stumbled upon a new sapphire deposit. Boy was he dead wrong! He had just discovered the newest of worlds gems which has not been found anywhere else since.
In May 2007, I went to Tanzania! I was working the summer on a luxury cruise ship in Alaska at the time. I was the host of a TV show about buying diamonds, gemstones and watches and taught our guests where to find the best once we hit each port of call.
That career that took me all over the world, but I have got to tell you, the trip to Tanzania was the longest trip ever! It was a full-on expedition. Skagway to Kilimanjaro via Juneau, Seattle, London and Nairobi.
That’s freaking far!
I don’t sleep on planes so you can imagine how wonderful I looked and how well my brain was functioning after the 40hr journey.
Regardless, I was happy…. On the slightly delusional side.
It looked just like the Lion King when I stepped off the plane. It was the trees! I had never seen trees like this before, other than in that movie. In the background, the huge peak of Mt Kilimanjaro. It was breathtaking!
The trip took my right to the Tanzanite Mine and I went deep down into the actual mine. I basically climbed into a bucket on tracks, tilted on a steep angle, and was lowered about 500 meters into the Earth. It was a little scary but an incredible experience
I love Tanzanite for many reasons! Of course, now I have that personal connection with Tanzanite but it’s also such a great buy for our generation. Soon after its discovery, it was Tiffany & Co that named it Tanzanite and it’s been increasing in popularity and value ever since.
Tanzanite is graded by its depth of colour. From light lavender to deep royal blue with flashes of violet throughout. It’s a beautiful stone even in the more affordable lighter tones however, if you want top quality, go as big and dark as you can afford!
Listen to this. When I first started in the industry, you could buy top quality Tanzanite for about $300-$400 a carat, this was 20 years ago.
Today, you are lucky to find a top-quality stone for under $1000 per carat!
The value of Tanzanite has continued to go up! This is another reason why I love this gemstone, because of the investment aspect. I would not go out of limb and tell anyone to invest in Tanzanite, but to buy it now while it’s still somewhat affordable.
Although the mine in Tanzania is still producing top quality Tanzanite, it will not be forever. I can only imagine it’s value when the mine has depleted. My guess is that it will follow suit to Alexandrite (Something I will talk about more).
When the Alexandrite mine in Russia depleted, the price shot right up! It’s so hard to come by these days that more people have inherited this rather than purchased.
Tanzanite will be one of those gemstones that we pass along to our next generation that more than likely won’t be able to find or afford Tanzanite.
A true treasure from the Earth!
Stay tuned for more highlights about this spectacular gemstone and where I bought for my Mom, Sister and Grandma!
Shine Bright!
