Zoisite var: Tanzanite with Calcite

Item Description

Tanzanite is a popular gem mineral, beloved for its beautiful color, gemminess and well-formed crystals. I will point out that Tanzanite is not a species, but rather the blue/purple variety of the mineral Zoisite, and the only place in the world where it has been found is in the Merelani Hills of Tanzania. Tanzanite gets is color from the presence of vanadium, otherwise the crystals would be more of a green shade, like most other Zoisites. Here we have a beautiful crystal showing decent pleochroism with a blue color on the "a" axis, and when you turn the crystal 90 degree and look through the "b" axis, you'll see a purple color. There are few minerals that display multi-color pleochroism like Tanzanite, and this piece is a great example of said material. The crystals have sharp, lustrous terminations and good internal gemminess when backlit. The back of the crystal features silvery-white colored Calcite for a nice touch. You can see a bit of yellow color at the base of the crystal, which is not unheard of for Tanzanite, but not terribly common. The piece is in superb condition, the only damage is one tiny nick I found on one of the terminations, but I needed a loupe to find it. If you've always wanted a good quality Tanzanite for your collection, this is a nice example of this classic material. The piece weighs 6.7 grams.