Blue sapphire lovers: do you like tanzanite?

[Garry H (Cut Nut)]

Low RI stones make it easier to see inclusions than higher RI gems

 

[Cerulean]

Here is a good article for you, Cerulean.

What Do the GIA Gem Clarity Grading Codes Mean? - Gem Society

A gemstone’s clarity grade indicates how free it is of inclusions and blemishes. Learn how to decipher the GIA clarity grading codes and types.

www.gemsociety.org

amazing thank you!!!

 

[fredflintstone]

amazing thank you!!!

You are very welcome!

 

[ilovegemstones]

I have never loved tanzanites because I prefer the velvety, saturated glow of good sapphires. One of my first big cs purchase after joining PS was a beautiful tanzanite ring from Yvonne Raley. I bought I remember loving it more in photos than in person which is how I have often felt with tanzanites. I ended up selling it to another PSer 12 to 15 years ago. I also prefer sapphires to spinels! There is something about them....

 

[voce]

I have never loved tanzanites because I prefer the velvety, saturated glow of good sapphires. One of my first big cs purchase after joining PS was a beautiful tanzanite ring from Yvonne Raley. I bought I remember loving it more in photos than in person which is how I have often felt with tanzanites. I ended up selling it to another PSer 12 to 15 years ago. I also prefer sapphires to spinels! There is something about them....

Neon cobalt spinels are magical, but way too rare! Sapphires are the best for blue colors.

 

[icy_jade]

here you go @icy_jade. You can’t see the flashes of red in these photos though.

Thank you! So pretty. I would have thought they are sapphire if you didn’t say what they are.

Something about them almost looks...glassy. I don't know how to explain it, but they lack the visual depth of a nice sapphire to me.

I think this is true -- I can aways "tell" and maybe this is how (apart from the size). Higher transparency and no silk/glow, maybe?

yes yes, I think so and somehow I like that velvety look of sapphires more than clean glassy look of tanzanites.

The price makes Tanzanite highly attractive, but like Peridot, one must be careful when wearing in a ring.

Ah… peridot is another gem that I don’t like but I have figured that I just don’t like the yellowish-green color typical of peridots.

I also prefer sapphires to spinels!

Neon cobalt spinels are magical, but way too rare!

For blue spinels I figured it’s cos many are too dark. Cobalt spinels are nice but too pricey and erm as you know me well, too small haha. I’m so predictable right.

 

[CSpan]

It's also a little like the, uh, fake boobs of blue gems -- my first reaction is what it's not, not what it is.

Dying.

 

[T L]

Love the color.
Dislike the durability.

 

[Lovey Lace]

I LOVE the color of tanzanites! I actually love it more than the kashmir sapphires and that royal blue. Maybe I should put it this way, I prefer the mix of purple and blue, rather than the blue-blue stones. I also like the lighter toned stones. I know these characteristics make the tanzanites lower graded or less valuable or whatever, but they look the best to me. Jeff Davies has one currently that I just LOVE the color, perfection!

What do you all think?

 

[LilAlex]

Dying.

I didn't mean this in a mean way. Some (most?) are great and I'm sure I'm none the wiser. But some are clearly "aftermarket" and not "OEM," as they might say on the car forums.

 

[seaurchin]

Of course I would rather have a large, high quality, beautifully cut and colored sapphire instead of a tanzanite with those same characteristics. But I also can't see spending as much as I'd pay for a car on a gem, unfortunately. Especially since just ONE wouldn't be nearly enough anyway!

In fact now that I'm out of jewelry jail, I've been looking around at colored stones and remembering why I went with lab sapphires before. Otherwise it's, let's see, soft stone and/or ugly stone and/or tiny stone and/or hugely expensive stone. Wait. Isn't this supposed to be fun?

Oh. I don't think I answered the question. Sorry. I like tanzanite's color and price but not its softness.

ETA: I wish there was a way to have a clear, thin but hard shell put on the softer gems to protect them.

 

[icy_jade]

7.15ct Tanzanite

I’m still associating tanzanite with fake boobs and it’s killing me

 

[Neptune]

Otherwise it's, let's see, soft stone and/or ugly stone and/or tiny stone and/or hugely expensive stone. Wait. Isn't this supposed to be fun?


ETA: I wish there was a way to have a clear, thin but hard shell put on the softer gems to protect them.

+1

 

[LilAlex]

ETA: I wish there was a way to have a clear, thin but hard shell put on the softer gems to protect them.

This is pretty foolproof for eggs

 

[toomuchB]

I think I would like it more if I didn't see so many huge, fine examples so readily available (which maybe is a silly way of thinking). Can't deny they can be very beautiful violetish blues. However, I am a big fan of the fancy colors, especially the less common ones.

I've been actively looking for a fine bluish green tanzanite, either faceted or a small, clean mineral specimen. Rare material but I've seen it here and there. Ideal example...

 

[Catmom]

I have seen some fabulous Tanzanite but it is soft and the ones that I think are fabulous are the ones that look like sapphires. Therefore, I stick with sapphires, lol. The one and only piece I had went to my DIL to wear on her wedding day.

 

[Autumn in New England]

I absolutely ADORE the color of tanzanite... blurples are a favorite for me and this one is so unique, IMO. But I dislike that the fine colors are completely created by heat treatment. Tanzanite is also relatively soft and brittle with perfect cleavage (and not the good kind), so durability is an issue. But I still sometimes find myself ogling the 1% material. I'll never stop loving that deep galactic indigo...

 

[Autumn in New England]

It's also a little like the, uh, fake boobs of blue gems -- my first reaction is what it's not, not what it is.

 

[voce]

now that I'm out of jewelry jail

Cheers to that!

Oh. I don't think I answered the question. Sorry. I like tanzanite's color and price but not its softness.

ETA: I wish there was a way to have a clear, thin but hard shell put on the softer gems to protect them.

Unfortunately, any coating would affect how the light enters and leaves the gem. Theoretically, I don't see why someone couldn't develop vapor deposition of carbon in vacuum into a diamond structure so that the softer stone would be encased in a thin layer of diamond, but that equipment would take millions to develop, and arguably the final product would be considered treated, not earth-mined. But man, oh man, wouldn't that be glorious, if instead of having diamonds beside CS, you get a diamond layer over the CS? I'm assuming a diamond layer would add to the light play instead of detracting from it.

 

[T L]

If it’s a ring, I would opt for a spinel or sapphire that has tanzanite color. Unless you’re super careful, tanzanite is a brittle stone prone to micro abrasions and craters simply from wiping it down. The problem is that with any gem softer than a seven on the Mohs scale, you have to be careful of silica. It’s the most abundant element in the earth’s crust, hence its even in dust, and those particles can easily find their way into clothes, dust rags, and anything your gem comes into contact with. I know some people with tanzanite rings, but they wear them less often, and they try to be careful.

 

[Redwoods-hiker-girl]

Yep! I love allll the blues -- sapphire, spinel, tanzanite, you name it. I just wish tanzanite were durable enough to be worn in a ring setting without worry.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,
I love the colors of tanzanite. I own two, neither top color, but a perwinkle blue that is beautiful. I like the hue, block D stock,and they do reflect a glow, especially an emerald cut. I think that when Tiffany bean selling them, wealthy customers weren't much bothered by the hardness. After all, they don't do their own cleaning, let alone have to work. I think of it as a luxury stone, worn for beauty. And to me, it is beautiful.

Annette

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

Years ago when I first started to come to pricescope, tanzanite was hyped a lot and discussed alot on here. Perhaps TL will remember this tibit.

A woman bought a 7=8 ctw beautiful tanzanite. I remember it being very, very nice, and had cost a pretty penny. Another poster asked her where she was planning to wear it. Without any hesitation she replied, "Why Walmarts of course". Otherwise she had no place to wear it.

When I go to Walmart, I think of this woman and make sure I have a nice ring to wear myself to Walmart. When I come home I remove the ring for future generations to mess up.

Annette

 

[T L]

Hi,

Years ago when I first started to come to pricescope, tanzanite was hyped a lot and discussed alot on here. Perhaps TL will remember this tibit.

A woman bought a 7=8 ctw beautiful tanzanite. I remember it being very, very nice, and had cost a pretty penny. Another poster asked her where she was planning to wear it. Without any hesitation she replied, "Why Walmarts of course". Otherwise she had no place to wear it.

When I go to Walmart, I think of this woman and make sure I have a nice ring to wear myself to Walmart. When I come home I remove the ring for future generations to mess up.

Annette

I don’t remember her, but when wearing any ring, you do have to be careful at grocery stores and places with shopping carts, like Walmart. They can easily bang when grabbing items, lifting them from the cart or shelf, on the conveyor, and on the cart itself. Costco does have the best lighting for gems though.

 

[mellowyellowgirl]

I don’t remember her, but when wearing any ring, you do have to be careful at grocery stores and places with shopping carts, like Walmart. They can easily bang when grabbing items, lifting them from the cart or shelf, on the conveyor, and on the cart itself. Costco does have the best lighting for gems though.

I have a heated blue sapphire I wear to coles (our big suburban grocery chain). Once I was rebellious and wore the giant rubellite but it’s always the heated blue sapphire these days.

Odd that for something that is not my most favourite ring it gets to see the world a lot more than the others.

Weird thing is I never bang it. It’s like the universe has decreed that only the soft stones will get bumped. Not this one which was bought so that it could withstand bumps.

 

[Wink]

I dearly love a good tanzanite. Once upon a time during one of the many economic downturns, I turned down a nice parcel of 3 - 5 carat tanzanites. About a hundred carats, at an unbelievable $90 per carat.

Why did I do that? I simply did not have $9,000 of spendable cash at that point in time. A year or so before that, these would have been in the 500-700/carat range and would be worth way more than that today. I am still thinking I made a major error that day. I have bought a LOT of gems I could barely afford over the years, and never once have I been sorry.