Zoisite var: Tanzanite

Item Description

Tanzanite crystals are some of the most popular gem minerals for collectors. This the blue/purple variety of the mineral Zoisite is found only in the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, and was discovered in the late 1960s. The color, gemminess and beautiful crystallization has made them not only desirable but unique for decades. This piece features beautiful, sharp, lustrous, gemmy Tanzanite crystals from the famous D-Block Mine. The crystals are some tapered on the terminations and exhibits good pleochroism with a fine blue hue when viewed from the front / "a" axis, and then purple can be seen when looking across the "b" axis. Internally, the piece is gemmy in areas, with good luster all around. One corner of the upper portion of the piece is contacted, presumably where it was attached to the pocket wall, but it's not terribly noticeable until you look closely. It's a very good sized piece for the material, as anything over 4-5 cm is considered larger than average for Tanzanite. Specimen weight is 17.78 grams. Valued $2,400