The gem is usually available in four quality grades: "AAA," "A," "B" and "C." "AAA" quality features the richest color and is very rare and limited. "A" quality, generally considered the highest grade available in most jewelry stores, exhibits slightly less intense color and has also become limited. "B" and "C" qualities, which exhibit increasingly lighter hues of color, are still very abundant.

With a ranking of 6.5 out of 10 on the Mohs scale, tanzanite is similar in hardness to an emerald but softer than a diamond. Although it is safe to wear tanzanite jewelry on a daily basis, avoid impacts that could crack, chip or shatter the stone. Clean your tanzanite with warm, soapy water and a soft bristle brush. Also, avoid ultrasonic or steam cleaning, because the high temperatures could damage the stone. Most nicks and scratches can be removed through polishing.

Tanzanite is the recommended gem for couples celebrating their 24th wedding anniversary. A noted 122.7-carat faceted stone is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.

Tanzanite is an extraordinary gemstone. It occurs in only one place worldwide. Its blue, surrounded by a fine hint of purple, is a wonderful colour. Thanks to its unusual aura and the help of the New York jeweller's Tiffany, it has rapidly become one of the most coveted gemstones in the world.

It is named after the East African state of Tanzania, the only place in the world where it has been found. Africa? Does anyone think of gemstones when they hear that name? Well they should, because Africa is a continent which provides the world with a multitude of truly magnificent gemstones, like tanzanite for example. On its discovery in 1967, it was enthusiastically celebrated by the specialists as the 'gemstone of the 20th century'. They held their breath in excitement as they caught sight of the first deep-blue crystals which had been found in the Merelani Hills near Arusha in the north of Tanzania. Millions of years ago, metamorphic schists, gneisses and quartzites formed impressive, flat-topped inselbergs on a vast plain in the shadow of Kilimanjaro. The precious crystals grew in deposits on the inside of these unusual elevations. For a long, long time they were hidden from the eye of Man, until one day some passing Masai shepherds noticed some sparkling crystals lying in the sun and took them along with them.

In Merelani today, the search is carried on for the coveted crystals in several, smallish mines, in some cases using modern methods. As a rule, only small grains are found, but now and again the mineworkers succeed in fetching out a larger crystal – to the joy of the mine owners and that of the large number of tanzanite fans.

The tanzanite trade is in the hands of many