Tanzanite - Birthstone for December

· This beautiful gemstone is found only in the East African state of Tanzania, hence the name.

· Found in the Merlani Hills near Arusha, in the north of Tanzania in 1967, specialists heralded it ‘the gemstone of the 20th century’.

· Millions of years ago, metamorphic schists, gneisses and quartzites formed impressive, flat-topped inselbergs on a vast plain in the shadow of Kilimanjaro. The precious crystals grew in deposits on the inside of these unusual elevations. They were hidden from man for a long time, until one day some Masai shepherds noticed the sparkling crystals lying in the sun and took them along with them.

· Today, the search continues for these much sought after crystals and Merelani has several small mines. Mostly small grains are found, but the occasional larger crystal appears, much to every stakeholder’s delight.

· The trade of tanzanite is shared by many licensed merchants, mostly on a small scale, who have built up strong relationships with gemstone companies over the years. About 90% of these merchants are members of the International Colored Gemstone Association and follow the high ethical standards of that organization. This ensures that this rare gemstone is not traded in dubious manner.

· Tanzanite is a blue variety of the gemstone zoisite. It is not very hard, placing 6.5 to 7 on the Mohs scale as it consists of calcium aluminium silicate. Great care should be given to the jewellery and it should never be placed in an ultrasonic bath for cleaning or brought into contact with acids.

· Tiffany’s, the New York jewellery company said, ‘This gemstone is a sensation!’ when they first came across Tanzanite. Tiffany’s were the first to use the name ‘Tanzanite’. They thought up the name, after believing that the original name of ‘blue zoisite’ sounded like the word ‘suicide’. Tiffany's presented the exclusive gemstone to the general public with a broad-based advertising campaign two-years later.

· The colour of the tanzanite runs from ultramarine blue to light violet-blue. The most prized colour is a blue surrounded by a delicate hint of purple, which has a particularly wonderful effect in sizes of over 10 carats. This exclusive gemstone is cut in every imaginable shape from the classical round shape to a number of imaginative designer cuts.

· What makes this stone so popular? Is it simply that fantastic colour? No, it is also the exclusivity of its origin. The stone is particularly highly prized because it is found in only one place in the whole world. The idea of possessing something that is unusual has always been one of the main criteria in the way we esteem special gems.



GARNET - Birthstone for January

· The term ‘garnet’ applies to a group of more than ten different gemstones of a similar chemical composition.

· Garnets are commonly red in colour, but they also come in various shades of green, yellow, orange and earth-coloured.

· Garnets are a hard-wearing gemstone and score 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale.

· The word ‘garnet’ comes from the Latin for grain ‘granum’. It was also known as the ‘carbuncle stone in the middle ages.

· According to legend, Noah used a garnet lantern to help him steer the ark through the dark night.

· Garnets have been found in jewellery made in Egyptian, Greek and Roman times.

· The garnet was a popular choice of talisman for the explorer or traveller as the garnet, allegedly, had power to light up the night and protect its bearer from disaster and evil.

· Almandine, andradite, demantoid, grossularite, hessonite, pyrope, rhodolite, tsavorith, spessartine and uvarovite, as funny sounding as they are, are all types of garnet.

· These are the most common garnets and their colours:





· Garnets mostly come from African countries, but also come from India, Russia and Central and South America.