Gold and tanzanite pendant

Here is one of my last creation: a magnifiscient one-of a kind gold pendant, with a 1,11 carat tanzanite.

Tanzanite was first discovered in 1967 in Tanzania, East Africa. As one of the newest and most exotically colored gemstones, Tanzanite is part of the Zoisite mineral species and is only found in East Africa. Tanzanite is very rarely a pure blue and usually exhibits rich purple overtones. It is so beautiful that it is often mistaken for Kashmir Sapphire (itself now so rare).

TANZANITE'S STUNNING BEAUTY
Tanzanite is an incredibly beautiful gemstone that derives it's stunning appearance from it's remarkably strong Trichroic properties, that is it shows alternately three different colours, blue, violet and red depending on the angle from which it is viewed. However all Tanzanite that is cut for commercial purposes is heat treated thus tending to fix the colour bringing out the best. Generally the best quality and cut of Tanzanite is a deep intense violet bluish colour. A word of caution with regards to the use and care of Tanzanite, Tanzanite is quite fragile; it has hardness of 6.5 on the Moh scale. To put this in perspective, compare Tanzanite to Sapphire which has hardness of 9. For this reason, although it can be worn daily, be very gentle with this exotic gem. Care should be taken to protect it from knocks, pressure and extreme temperature changes. Never use ultrasonic cleaners to clean jewelry with Tanzanite.

TANZANITE - CREATED BY EARTH AND FIRE
The fact is that it is actually a form of Zoisite and in it's untreated form is a dull grayish brown in colour that in order to release it's almost unrivalled natural beauty is heated to 500 degrees Centigrade. The heat treatment needed is why it was never discovered until a lightning strike caused a bush fire that naturally heated the rough Zoisite bringing forth the amazing stone we know as Tanzanite much to the delight and amazement of the Massai tribesmen.

TANZANITE - HARDER AND HARDER TO FIND... The price of Tanzanite has obviously risen due to the ratio of supply and demand (and can only continue to do so) with high grades of Tanzanite selling for as much as US$1200 per carat. Like most other gems, when the carat weight of a tanzanite increases, its price per carat goes up. It is still possible however to buy top quality Tanzanite for around the US$700 mark in the smaller sizes such as 3 to 5 carat.
Tanzanite has been available in the world since the late 1960’s and has become one of the most coveted precious gems on the planet.

(source: http://www.tanzaniteauthority.com/)