Giving tanzanite as a gift, and what to say about it
A pendant or earrings solve most of it: no size to guess and no durability conversation. The harder part is what you say about the stone.
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A pendant or earrings solve most of it: no size to guess and no durability conversation. The harder part is what you say about the stone.
READA valuation is a replacement figure, not a grade. For a stone with no grading scale, the description attached to it does more work than the number.
READCa2Al3(SiO4)3(OH), orthorhombic, coloured by trace vanadium. The formula explains the three colours, the cleavage plane and why heating works.
READResizing a tanzanite ring is a real operation, not a routine one. The usual reassurance that it can be sorted out later is weaker than it sounds.
READThe thing most likely to damage the tanzanite is the other ring. Not doorframes. The band sitting against it for sixteen hours a day.
READTurquoise, blue zircon, blue topaz and tanzanite. Every one of them is treated, and in three cases the treatment is undetectable.
READThere is no standard grading scale for tanzanite. GIA evaluates the stone but does not grade it, and AAA is only a description the seller wrote themselves.
READPhotos flatter tanzanite more than most gems. What to ask a seller for, how to judge colour from video, and how EU return rights work, including the exceptions.
READThe most consequential decision is made before any facet is cut, takes a minute, and cannot be undone: which of three colours will face the sky.
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