TANZ07
Tanzanite
Block D, Merelani Mines, Arusha, Tanzania
Miniature, 3.9 x 2.7 x 1.5 cm
SOLD

This specimen is as jewel-like as you can get for an uncut tanzanite, with absolutely top glassy luster, that looks polished, combined with a complex sharp termination and a rich natural color. This kind of clarity and perfection of form, combined with the freaky luster and the color scheme here, has come out only in small amounts of crystals, generally of about this size or smaller, from Block D in recent years. Admittedly, the material of this particular style is not the most intense blue, or purple, or red (on c-axis); but rather has more subtle pink/maroon coloring on the long axis and a lighter pastel hue of blue. It has not been heat-treated, which emphasizes and conforms the blue and purple hues to a standard, while squelching the natural red or pink color on the c-axis. (If it were heat treated, this would be prime AAA-quality gem rough material, and would be easily cut into gems of substantial value). It is pristine and complete all around, and displays like a Jewel in a showcase. This is, due to the lighter color palette, not the traditional "major" tanzanite of intense blue (and there, heat treated pieces are acceptable to me when disclosed as such), but rather a more rare and subtle crystal that to me is all the more desirable for its unique qualities. 32 grams. Comes with a custom lucite base.

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