New
discoveries in the gem world are few and far between these days, so the
2011 discovery of a brand new gem, caused quite a stir at Gems TV.
Astraeolite’s
name is derived from Astraea the daughter of the Greek God Zeus, who
was also known as the “Star Maiden”. When you study a piece of
Astraeolite you will see why. You can’t help but feel like you are
looking into a starry sky.
So far the gem is only known to come out of one location in Brazil, so the extent of its rarity is as yet unknown.
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The Gems Christmas Look Book, take a look for inspiration on your next ring, bracelet, earrings or necklace...
If you are buying a Christmas or new year gift, have you thought about Tanzanite?
Tanzanite
Tanzanite
is truly spectacular! This precious gemstone is only found in one
location in the world: Tanzania, Africa. Claimed to be a 1000 times
rarer than Diamonds, Tanzanite is the blue variety of Zoisite.
Even though Zoisite occurs widely,
the geological conditions that are required to enable the gem to turn
into its trademark blue is so rare that it has been described as ‘more
astounding than the stone itself’.
Tanzanite is extremely popular due
to its trichroic nature, which means that three different colours can
be seen when looking at the gem from different angles. In Tanzanite’s
case these colours are: blue, pinkish violet and yellow.
As with many gemstones, the darker, more
vivid its colour the more valuable it is; and dark blue Tanzanite is
currently amongst the most desired, and therefore most expensive,
gemstones in the world. So enchanted is anyone who sees this
gemstone that today it is often talked about with the same reverence as
Diamonds.
On discovering this beautiful gem in
1967, word of the unearthing reached the celebrated New York
Jewellers, Tiffany’s. At that time Henry B Platt (the great grandson of
Louis C Tiffany) was working with Tiffany’s president, Walter Hoving.
He was completely awestruck by the beauty of the gemstone, a gem
which he later named Tanzanite, after the country where it
was discovered, and this amazing gemstone was launched at
Tiffany’s in 1969.
Hailed the “gemstone of the 20th
century”, it has been recommended to wear Tanzanite as an
anti-depressant, due to the nurturing, emotionally supportive
and cheering energies it is said to bestow. The huge demand for
this gemstone led to the Gemological Institution of America adding the
gem to the official birthstone list in 2002, for the month of December.
Because of a slight technical error, we noticed today that the variety of jewellery on the Gems TV website was very low. The technical team checked data, clicked and dragged and before you know it the problem was fixed. The online Boutique now has thousands of potentially new items ready to be looked at. Have a look yourself and find a piece of jewellery you adore!
