What is the difference between tanzanite and amethyst

Under natural light, the stone should appear blue with a hint of violet, but when moved around in incandescent light, it should flare red and pink. Imitations, such as iolite , do not; from angles other than the top, they appear clear or even yellowish. Natural gemstones frequently have fewer faults or none at all than imitation or lab-created stones.

Pleochroism, specific gravity, hardness, and refractive index are all characteristics of strong pleochroism. Amethyst is a violet, purple and dark purple gem that is found in many areas around the world. But also, to some extent, the hues of amethyst can normally occur from displacement of transition elements even though the iron concentration is low.

Thanks for looking into this mystery stone, everyone! I have some tools coming in to check this. Won't take it to a lab yet because wow they charge loads just to identify a stone verbally. Will see first what I can do with a refractometer. Posted: Sun Jul 24, pm. I think you'll narrow this down in to time with a refractometer.

Have you used one before? We're all on the edge of our chairs. Like an amethyst you know is an amethyst. Check to make sure you are properly getting a reading of 1. Once you know what to look for in a known sample Posted: Sun Aug 14, am.

Posted: Mon Aug 15, am. Her fees are quite reasonable as far as I can remember. My first interest on gemology started in Philippines, while I was an expat couldnt work so next best thing was to study something of interest. Her introductory course helped me a lot. I am sure Lucille can help you out. I doubt your main stone is Amethyst or Tanzanite. Posted: Mon Nov 28, am. Hi everyone, sorry it took months to get back to you.

I'm pregnant and since the RI fluid is toxic I couldn't use my refractometer. Ended up teaching the husband from the manual. There are some gemological tests that can be performed to determine synthetic versus natural. Amethyst is a variety of the gem mineral quartz that can be found from specimen grade to cut grade pieces, from tiny crystals to giant specimens. The term precious and semi-precious use to be value based and has become outdated and demeaning to many high value gems once categorized as semi-precious.

Amethyst has been known since before Greek times, the name is derived from the Greek word amethustos. Amethyst was one of the stones that represented one of the tribes of Aaron in the Bible.

Not very rare, it is plentiful, but with all gemstones, the better the color the more rare it is. This will change as the market for tanzanite increases. If you look at a gem like sapphire and diamond large gems can be 20 times the price per carat of their smaller counterparts.

Tanzanite One gives the longest estimate of 30 years of tanzanite production. I view this as an overstatement as Tanzanite One or Richland Resources is publicly traded and investors don't want to invest in a company whose product has a short life. The mix of the two colors is often said to look like the eyes of the most beautiful actress Elizabeth Taylor. Tanzanite is the violet to blue blue or purple mainly form of the mineral zoisite.

It is a calcium alumina hydroxy silicate. Discovered in in Tanzania by local herders and brought to market by a tailor and part time prospector Manuel de Sousa.

Tiffany and company gave the name "tanzanite" to this gem. The mining area is small, possibly less than 6 square kilometers. Located less than a half hour drive from Kilomanjaro International Airport which serves Arusha and the Seranghetti game preserves.

Estimates of the lifespan of the mines are from 10 to 25 years and it is unlikely this mineral will be discovered elsewhere. Tanzanites is second only to sapphire in popularity among all colored gems. The mix of violet and blue is often labeled as "mesmerizing" by owners of the gem. Like the rare gem alexandrite, tanzanite also has the ability to color change from more blue in daylight to more violet in incandescent light.

Tanzanite is safely used in fine jewelry including pendants, earrings and with some caution rings and bracelets. It's been said that Tanzanite is like Diamond, but Tanzanite is at least x more valuable and more rare than Diamond. Diamonds have been minded in large quantities. You can't say that about Tanzanite. If you compare it to Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald Tanzanite only about 25 years!

These are the biggest reasons why this stone is very rare compared to others and why it's a perfect time to purchase Tanzanite now. One common question we receive is based on the color of Tanzanite. You will see many blue and purple tanzanite out there. People want to know which is worth more, the blue Tanzanite or purple Tanzanite. Each are valuable, but really depends on the depth of color More in the video below. Tanzanite is far more rare than Diamond and has just recently been mined.

Because the price of Diamonds are controlled, you will normally pay much more for a Diamond then a Tanzanite, even though the rarity is not there. You will see the big differences in color as well.

For the hardness, a Diamond will be harder than Tanzanite. This doesn't mean it is too soft to wear in jewelry such as a ring, just that it doesn't have the hardness that Diamond has. Tanzanite and Sapphire has similiar colors and are sometimes confused with each other.

When Tanzanite was first released, due to the cheaper pricing, it was used as a cheap alternative to Sapphire. This was before the popularity grew for this gemstone and the price did as well.

One big difference between Sapphire and Tanzanite is that Sapphire is naturally blue. It normally comes out of the ground a brownish-red color. Another difference between the two stones is that Sapphire is harder than Tanzanite. While both can be worn in pendants, earrings and rings, Sapphire is naturally harder than Tanzanite.

The value of tanzanite is based on the 4 c's just like a diamond. Deeper colors have more value. Most tanzanites are quite clean and visible inclusions affect the value dramatically. Price per carat jumps at 1.

Price per carat peaks at 3. Tanzanite is available in blue, purple or violet-blue. The most sought after color are intense blues. Any colors outside this range are less valuable and not as rare and the deep colored purple and blue Tanzanite gemstones. Unheated Tanzanite is brown in color and doesn't get it's blue and purple colors until it is heat treated. Buyers often confuse Tanzanite with Sapphire or Amethyst due to the color. During Steve Moriarty's last trip to Tanzania learn more here in November of , he purchased many pieces of rough Tanzanite, which is sometimes called 'raw' Tanzanite.

This is when Tanzanite has not yet been cut yet and has just been found in the mines. Because there is a limit to how much and how big of a rough Tanzanite gemstone you can bring back from Tanzania, much of the rough Steve Moriarty cut there in Tanzania.

Some of the dealers he met allowed him to use their cutting machines in their shop to cut and polish the raw stones allowing him to bring back more to the United States than he would be able to in their previous form. It's also cheaper to buy these stones in the rough than cut. This is because you then have to pay for the labor to cut them.

Most of the Tanzanite you see in shops has been delivered to those shops already cut and polished. Here at Tanzanite Jewelry Designs, we not only have the finished gemstones, but also a ton of raw gemstones because Steve Moriarty enjoys cutting them in our retail store in Crown Point, IN. If you are ever interested in seeing Tanzanite in the raw form, please stop by our shop and Steve would love to show you what your Tanzanite looks like before it's all cut and polished and ready to be worn.

In this video, Steve Moriarty talks about how to grade Tanzanite gemstones.