Tanzanite Ultimate Guide
The name tanzanite was a trade name coined by Tiffany & Co. shortly after the gem's discovery, an obvious allusion to its country of origin. This was thought necessary in order to make the stone marketable to the public: the name has since stuck as a varietal designation. Tanzanite's present-day popularity as a gemstone is largely thanks to Tiffany's marketing campaigns. The mining of tanzanite nets the Tanzanian government approximately USD $20 million annually, the finished gems later being sold mostly on the US market for sales totaling approximately USD $500 million annually. In April 2005, a company called TanzaniteOne Ltd. publically announced that they had taken control of the tanzanite mine known as "C-Block".
Over the next year, this company established a De Beers-like control over the tanzanite market. This is the first time that a colored gemstone has been controlled in this way. In August 2005, the largest tanzanite crystal was found in the C-Block mine. The crystal weighs 16,839 carats (3.4 kg) and measures 22 cm by 8 cm by 7 cm. A rough sample of tanzanite.In February 2006 TanzaniteOne Ltd. announced that they were moving forward with their marketing strategy to make Tanzanite "the" birthstone. They plan to market the rare gem as a stone one would give a child at birth, to celebrate new life. A tanzanite bracelet.In June of 2003, the Tanzanian government introduced legislation banning the export of unprocessed tanzanite to India (like many gemstones, most tanzanite is cut in Jaipur).
The ban has been rationalized as an attempt to spur development of local processing facilities, thereby boosting the economy and recouping profits. This ban was phased in over the next two years, until which time only stones over 0.5 grams were affected.
