Tanzanites Part 2

The five C’s were created by The Tanzanite Foundation as a means to grade the qualities of a tanzanite in a similar way to that of a diamond, this is known as The Tanzanite Quality Scale™. Getting a strong understanding of these principals can be a useful exercise when considering using one of these lovely gemstones in your engagement ring, wedding rings or eternity ring. We explored some in part one, so we are delving further.

The condition of each of these categories can have a great affect upon the value of a tanzanite, however although a gemstone may have a strong grading in one category it’s value will still be relative to that of the grading of these other elements e.g. a tanzanite of 1ct in weight is usually considered to be of high value, however if the clarity and colour for example are very poor, this will of course affect the overall value of the gemstone. When looking for the perfect tanzanite engagement ring on a budget you want to look for a good balance of these features, it is of course down to personal choice so you may wish to favour one of these elements. The following is a breakdown of the rest of these grading categories:

Cut – The cut is essentially the form of the tanzanite. Rough tanzanites go through the process of lapidary in an attempt to maximise on the gemstone’s lovely qualities. The tanzanite will be cut in order to capitalise on the stone’s fire and brilliance and to maximise the dispersion of light. The shape, facet angles, symmetry and proportions can have a great affect upon the quality of the cut, and therefore the appearance of the gemstone. An ideal cut should allow total internal reflection e.g. all the light that enters through the front of the stone, this is refracted within and then reflected back out of the front of the stone. Of course the quality of the cut can not only affect the appearance of the gemstone, but also its durability. If for example a gemstone has a thin girdle this can make it more susceptible to damage. This is of course very important when dealing with a tanzanite as these have a hardness of 6 ½ on the Mohs’ scale and can be susceptible to damage. Another consideration when looking at the cut of a gemstone is of course whether it can be set properly, if the proportions of the cut are quite poor this may make the gemstone very difficult to put into a piece of jewellery. A tanzanite that has been cut with a strong level of precision will be considered to be more valuable. Below is the terms given according to the The Tanzanite Quality Scale™ for cut:

A Excellent
B Fine
C Good
D Fair
E Poor

Carat – Carat is a measurement of weight for gemstones. A carat equates to 0.20 grams. Like any other gemstone the depth of a stone can have a significant effect upon the carat weight e.g. two stones of the same millimetre size across the top of the stone from one side of the girdle to the other may differ in carat weight quite significantly if there is a great different between the depths of the gemstones. A tanzanite of higher carat weight is considered to be of greater value.

Confidence – This provides the customer with an assurance that the gemstone has been accurately graded, has been sourced using an ethical route to the market and is a natural tanzanite. Tanzanite is a very rare gemstone which can only be sourced in a small 5km area near Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, where the unique geological conditions have allowed these lovely gemstones to form. The popularity of tanzanite has swelled in recent years and it is believed that in a mere 15 years you will no longer be able to source these gemstones in their natural form. It is therefore important to customers that they are assured that they are receiving a natural tanzanite gemstone as these are likely to become highly valuable heirlooms in the future.