Legend claims it started with a lightning bolt. A single strike set the African plain aflame — and revealed a geological secret that had been buried for more than 585 million years. The violet blue gem we now call tanzanite naturally occurs in only one place on Earth: Tanzania’s remote Merelani Hills, in the craggy shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro. In...read more
Legend claims it started with a lightning bolt. A single strike set the African plain aflame — and revealed a geological secret that had been buried for more than 585 million years. The violet blue gem we now call tanzanite naturally occurs in only one place on Earth: Tanzania’s remote Merelani Hills, in the craggy shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro. In 1967, a Portugese tailor, Manuel De Souza, was spending all his spare time and money in search of gold. He never found any gold — instead, he discovered vivid stones that had been uncovered by a recent brush fire. Christened tanzanite as a nod to its country of origin, gemological tests revealed that the jewel had a composition more complex than sapphire, and that its color was more intriguing, more alluring, and more exotic than any other gemstone.
Since its discovery in 1967, this unique blue-hued gem has taken the jewelry world by storm, and is currently one of the most sought-after stones in the market. Now is the time for you to claim your piece of gemological history.
