My love affair with tanzanites began at a relatively late age. Dazzled by the classics — diamonds, rubies, emeralds, sapphires and pearls — it took me a few years to appreciate the soulful quality of tanzanites’ colours.
Sure, I had seen tanzanites by then, but never in large enough sizes to be captivated by their colours. After all, tanzanites are about a thousand times rarer than diamonds.
Tanzanites first drew my serious attention when I heard they had increased their value by more than 50 per cent within a decade, a relatively short period of time.
Intrigued, I went in search of some these beauties at German gemstone-dealer Paul Wild’s booth at the BaselWorld fair a few years back. And I was absolutely hooked.
Nicknamed “the gemstone of the 20th century”, today, the tanzanite is a stable, albeit extravagant, classic in the repertoire of high jewellery. Right now, the prevailing fashion for tanzanite jewellery seems to be for baroque or tumbled gemstones set in figurative designs.
Image opener courtesy of Chaumet
