Women have always been in love with jewellery. For centuries, gemstones have been considered a beautiful part of luxury metal jewellery. If you are out looking for gemstones, there are several types available these days, both online and offline, allowing you to choose one that meets your requirements, matches the colour of the jewellery you desire, or reflects your personality.
Both gemstone and luxury metal options are plentiful, ranging from rubies and sapphires to regular diamonds and black diamonds, which are used for making different types of jewellery, including diamond mangalsutra or bracelets that can be purchased in the comfort of your home. Every gemstone is found inside the Earth, and each type takes a different amount of time and conditions to form and possesses unique chemical properties that result in the various colours they exhibit.
Tanzanite is one of the rarest and most unique gemstones, found in only one place on Earth. You might be wondering, “What is the reason for its rarity?” While all gemstones are found in various parts of the world, why is tanzanite found only in one specific region- Tanzania?
Well, the answer is because Tanzanite has a remarkably exclusive origin story. This gemstone, called tanzanite, is available in a blue-violet colour and is found only in a small area in northern Tanzania. This rarity of the gemstones makes it one of the rarest gemstones available in the jewellery world today. The gemstone is known for the quite captivating and fascinating colour that it carries, and its availability in a limited geographic source makes it quite a popular and sought-after gemstone among collectors, jewellery enthusiasts and couples looking to have something which is truly different from all the other gemstones available.
Even after so much popularity and a charming appearance, the question remains: why, after all, is this gemstone so rare, and even after so many years, why has this gemstone not been discovered anywhere else? To have a detailed discussion on this question, let’s delve into the details and understand where exactly Tanzanite is found.
Where Is Tanzanite Found?
Tanzanite is mined exclusively in the Merelani Hills, a relatively small mining region located near Mount Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania. Tanzanite is only found in this region, unlike other gemstones, which are mined in various places. So, if you are someone who owns a tanzanite wedding band, then the Merelani Hills is the place where it was mined.
In addition to the region where this extraordinary gemstone is mined, its mining area contributes to its rarity, making tanzanite a truly unique gemstone. Mostly, the mining areas of the gemstones are quite large in nature, but those of tanzanite span only a few square kilometres. This geographical restriction on gemstone deposits makes tanzanite one of the rarest gemstones in the world.
There are only a few gemstones that can match the rarity of this gemstone. Listed below are a few important facts that you must know about the Tanzanite gemstone:
- Found only in northern Tanzania.
- Mined near the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro.
- Discovered in 1967.
- Belongs to the zoisite mineral family.
- Considered one of the world’s rarest coloured gemstones.
Why Is Tanzanite Found Only in Tanzania?
You might be thinking, why is it that the tanzanite gemstone is found only in Tanzania? This is truly a curious question, and the answer lies in the fact that scientists believe that Tanzania formed millions of years ago under an exceptionally rare combination of conditions involving heat, pressure, mineral composition, and tectonic activity. All these rare conditions beneath the Earth’s surface resulted in the formation of this unique gemstone, making Tanzania the only region where authentic Tanzanite is found.
For the formation of the tanzanite gemstone, several geographical situations had to occur that led to the natural formation of this gemstone within the Earth’s crust. When it comes to the description, there are a number of experts who describe this gemstone as a “once-in-a-generation geological miracle” merely because of the rare circumstances that led to its formation.
Listed below are a few factors that led to the formation of Tanzanite in the region:
- Unique mineral-rich environment.
- Extreme geological pressure.
- High temperatures beneath the Earth’s surface.
- Tectonic plate movements.
- Millions of years of natural transformation.
If you love this gemstone but cannot purchase earth-mined Tanzanite, you can easily opt for lab grown Tanzanite engagement rings to exchange with your partner.
Summing Up
To sum up, Tanzanite is a remarkable gemstone that is mined from the Earth’s crust, and its rarity is further enhanced by the unique geographical conditions that led to its formation millions of years ago.
