derf5585 Posted December 8, 2004 #1 Share Posted December 8, 2004 On every cruise I've been on Tanzanite has been "pushed". I have never even heard of Tanzanite before cruising. Is it really that popular? Would Derfette say "Wow you bought me Tazanite it's what I always wanted"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshabear Posted December 8, 2004 #2 Share Posted December 8, 2004 supposedly it is becoming very popular.... because it is rare, the prices are going up (according to the seminar we attended on our last cruise)... i won a pair of tanzanite earrings worth $140....but i haven't had them appraised to find out if they are really worth that much.... tanzanite is a pretty stone but i am more into sapphires.... if derfette likes this purple colored stone, then i would think she would be very happy!!! :) Marsha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNOWEY Posted December 8, 2004 #3 Share Posted December 8, 2004 If you like it, buy it! I bought a 2.25 ct. stone on our Alaska cruise and had it set into my wedding set. Replaced the dark sapphire. I have received many compliments. One word of caution...they are somewhat soft so don't do the housework w/it on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travel girl23 Posted December 8, 2004 #4 Share Posted December 8, 2004 Like you, I had never heard of it except on our cruises. Then, just recently, I saw an ad in our local paper for tanzanite!! First time I had ever seen it locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earthworm Jim Posted December 8, 2004 #5 Share Posted December 8, 2004 supposedly it is becoming very popular.... because it is rare, the prices are going up (according to the seminar we attended on our last cruise)... Of course, their objective at the seminar was to get you to buy some tanzanite, so you have to take that with a large grain of salt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgriff17 Posted December 8, 2004 #6 Share Posted December 8, 2004 Mrs. Sgriff17'ette is really impressed with her Tanzanite ring. We got it before ever going on a cruise and she loves it. Of course, now she has to get a new one everytime we go ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgmpuma Posted December 8, 2004 #7 Share Posted December 8, 2004 http://search.ebay.com/tanzanite_Jewelry-Watches_W0QQfromZC3QQsacategoryZ281QQsosortorderZ1QQsosortpropertyZ1 Derf: I'm shocked that you don't have a web site for tanzanite. Ebay is usually the best place to find out what something is really worth. It looks like most tanzanite goes pretty cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpy1 Posted December 8, 2004 #8 Share Posted December 8, 2004 The jewelry store that i have dealt with for 20 years keeps putting out larger displays of tanzanite. It seems that it is increasing in popularity and that will naturally push up prices. A friend that cruises frequently told me that his DW buys Tanzanite in almost every port and on every ship. He has noticed the prices increasing over the years. He said he's really glad she didn't start collecting Alexandrite. that would have been very expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNOWEY Posted December 8, 2004 #9 Share Posted December 8, 2004 The deeper colors are more expensive. The light lilac color is cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsvacation Posted December 8, 2004 #10 Share Posted December 8, 2004 Getting on my soapbox As with many gems these days there is the issue of "Conflict Tanzanite" where money from jewel sales ends up in the hands of groups you'd rather not support. Wall Street Journal reported Tanzanite money was going to terrorists (although that claim was vigorously denied) I'd be hard pressed to buy anyone a diamond these days with the images of genocide in Africa funded through gem sales on CNN. Granted most of what we buy these days has some sort of unsavory element to it, but gems really are an ostentatious luxury item, I would like the industry to make an honest attempt at trying to clean up the trade. Right now the current system has basically no safeguards and the those signs boasting conflict free gems can not be supported. Off my soapbox now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf5585 Posted December 8, 2004 Author #11 Share Posted December 8, 2004 "Conflict Tanzanite" Tanzanite Update - Conflict Tanzanite - January 2002 from http://www.bosgems.com/bgf/ff-article.asp?f=Conflicts&q=Conflict+Stones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamhugh Posted December 9, 2004 #12 Share Posted December 9, 2004 I love tanzanite. It is fairly expensive here at home, so I bought my first piece in St. Thomas on our first cruise. It was a tennis bracelet that I paid $400 for. The jeweler here appraised it for $1200. I was really shocked, since I was only hoping I wasn't ripped off. Now I'm hooked on it and it is definitely my favorite stone. Tammy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelletib Posted December 9, 2004 #13 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Tanzanite is a 6 1/2 to 7 on the Moh's hardness scale. That falls between scratches a glass window and can be scratched with a steel file. So it is actually a fairly hard stone. It was introduced by Tiffany & Co. in NYC. Good quality the color is ultramarine to sapphire blue. Artificial light, more of an amethyst violet. Heat treated to 752-932 degrees, the brown and yellowish tints vanish and the blue deepens. Only deposits are found in Tanzania, hence the name. Beware, there are glass imitations and doublets made from glass with tanzanite crown or made fromtwo colorless synthetic spinels glued with tanzanite-colored glue. No. I'm not a gemologist or a jeweler. I just like to know about what I buy before I buy it. I purchase all my stones here. The alexandrite I looked at in Alaska was so incredibly overpriced at Diamonds International. I came home, found a one that had 100% colorchange for a fraction of the cost. It's at my goldsmith's being set into a ring. So the ring that was 14k in Alaska is costing me less that 2k :) Buyer beware!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joanportia Posted December 9, 2004 #14 Share Posted December 9, 2004 I'm no expert but I collect gems. If you are going to buy a ring these days take the leap and invest in a tanzanite piece. The darker the stone the better. A few years ago would have been a better deal since the cost has quadrupled in price and will continue since it is a one source stone and the source is either completely dried up or no longer mined. I'm not sure. They say it may become the equivalent of yester year's Alexandrite. Also a new stone to watch for is Brazanite. Joan Sail on..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tom-n-Cheryl Posted December 9, 2004 #15 Share Posted December 9, 2004 My reply does not address tanzanite, but rather a previous poster who was concerned with the "questionable element" surrounding the gem industry. I found this link recently - and it looks like "fake/REAL" diamonds are coming of age... have a look... http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/SavingandDebt/P97816.asp http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/diamond.html not quite turning LEAD into GOLD.... but it is a start! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Tom-n-Cheryl Posted December 9, 2004 #16 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Hey... I have some Floridanite... It kind of looks like limestone - not real hard... but I will ship to all 50 states..;) Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf5585 Posted December 9, 2004 Author #17 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Hey... I have some Floridanite... It kind of looks like limestone - not real hard... but I will ship to all 50 states..;) Tom Examples of Rocks and Mineral commonly found in Florida from http://www.dep.state.fl.us/geology/geologictopics/rockmin.htm Minerals of Florida from http://www.tigerminerals.com/fl.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvdoxies Posted December 9, 2004 #18 Share Posted December 9, 2004 I do have an Alexanderite ring my dad got for me in Russia many years ago---it's worth quite a lot now. The tanzanite is not nearly as pretty to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf5585 Posted December 9, 2004 Author #19 Share Posted December 9, 2004 I do have an Alexanderite ring This rare gemstone is named after Russian Tsar Alexander II from http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/alex.html Alexandrite Mineral Specimens and Crystals from http://www.mineralminers.com/html/alxmins.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEEMOM Posted December 9, 2004 #20 Share Posted December 9, 2004 One of the reasons that tanzanite is so expensive, is that most of it comes from one major mine in Tanzania. The mine was closed because of flooding several years ago. It is a truly beautiful color change stone, from deep purple to sapphire blue. The light ones are refered to as periwinkle blue and are very pale. The deeper the color the more expensive the stone. I have heard the dark ones sell for about $1,000 per karat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf5585 Posted December 9, 2004 Author #21 Share Posted December 9, 2004 The mine was closed because of flooding several years ago. Still washed out from http://www.africagems.com/articles/uparticle.html Many say tanzanite’s future lies in Block C from http://www.professionaljeweler.com/archives/articles/2000/jul00/0700gn1.html Hostility between local small-scale tanzanite miners and African Gem Resources Co. (AFGEM) escalated to violence from http://www.colored-stone.com/stories/may01/merelani.cfm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelletib Posted December 9, 2004 #22 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Brazilianite is relatively soft. A 5 on the moh's scale with 10 being the hardest. It's a pretty yellow, but I wouldn't use it for anything but a pendant and earrings. Shatters easily same as apatite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbound Posted December 9, 2004 #23 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Helzberg Diamond in my local mall has had Tanzanite jewelry for over a year.. I remember seeing it last year at this time so I know theyve had it at least that long.. I think its just now getting out there... I already told my boyfriend that rather than getting me anything for Christmas that I want a piece of Tanzanite jewelry when we go on cruise in March.. I plan on getting in the Caribbean as the prices looked better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IBEEMOM Posted December 9, 2004 #24 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Derf, thanks so much for the interesting articles about tanzanite. It's always fun to learn something new. Hope you find MrsDerf a nice piece with a lot of color, for a reasonable price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vermonter16 Posted December 9, 2004 #25 Share Posted December 9, 2004 DH bought me a tanzanite ring in Nassau....it is for a Christmas gift so I wore it on one formal night....will wear it to my company's holiday party this Saturday and then wait to see it for Christmas. We were on the cruise with a lady who "lives" and "loves" jewelry...she seemed to know what a good stone was and how much was too much and what was a good deal. I showed her my ring for $500 and she said it was excellent because of the quality of the stone - deep and dark. You can find a lot cheaper tanzanite the lighter the color of stone...and you can tell the difference. I'm glad DH got me this ring - I LOVE IT - the few times I have seen it :) To each his own but I don't think you can go too wrong as long as you negotiate - never pay what it is marked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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