Can tanzanite be different colors?

From deep in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania comes tanzanite, a gemstone with only a single known source that has become one of the most intriguing and desirable precious gemstones of modern times. It is a variety of the mineral zoisite and varies from blue, to violet, or purple in colour.

What is the rarest color of tanzanite?

Pink Tanzanite
Pink Tanzanite (or Pink Zoisite, to give it its scientific name) is the rarest of all Tanzanites. It is very seldom mined or seen and fine pieces are hard to get. The cause of color in Pink Tanzanite is thought to be trace elements of Manganese as opposed to Vanadium which colors the blue variety of Zoisite.

What color tanzanite is most valuable?

blue
Tanzanite gems with a strong-to-vivid blue, purplish blue and violetish blue color are the most valuable. The two rings at the top of the image are examples. These rich colors are the most appealing to the majority of people shopping for tanzanite.

What color is tanzanite when it comes out of the ground?

Many tanzanite gemstones are heated. The majority of tanzanite stones come out of the ground a yellow-brown color with slight hints of violet. The stones are then heat-treated at low temperature to create the rich blues and purples that have made tanzanite one of the most popular high value gems on the market today.

What are the names of the different colors of tanzanite?

The mineral zoisite naturally occurs in a wide range of colors that include colorless, gray, yellow, brown, pink, green, blue, and violet. The name “tanzanite” is used for a color variety of zoisite that ranges from blue, through violet, to violetish purple.

Which is more expensive violet or blue Tanzanite?

It is likely that dark blue tanzanite is more expensive because of its similarity to the more expensive gem, sapphire. Regardless of the size of your stone however, all tanzanite will possess at least a small amount of both violet and blue.

What’s the difference between daylight and incandescent tanzanite?

Of course, we have Tanzanite’s like this, which is what we expect the color out of Tanzanite. Although, this particular one, it’s a natural color and when you look at it between daylight and incandescent, this is a color changer. It will change probably 90% from blue, completely blue in daylight to almost completely purple in incandescent lighting.

How long does it take to change the color of tanzanite?

When vanadium-bearing zoisite is heated to a temperature of 600 degrees Celsius for about 30 minutes, the oxidation state of the vanadium is changed and that change causes or improves the blue color. The heat treatment of tanzanite is very mild when compared to what is often done for gems such as rubies and sapphires.