Tanzanite Jewelry Watches - A Unique Stone Makes For a Stunning Timepiece

Tanzanite is a gorgeous blue/purple gemstone often employed to make expensive jewelry. It is not generally used in fashion products meant for everyday wear due to its fragile makeup. Due to this characteristic, it is often tricky to find real Tanzanite jewelry and watches.

About Tanzanite
Tanzanite is named for the location of its discovery - Tanzania. It was initially found there over forty years ago, in the late 1960's. Its beauty is indisputably recognized. In its unprocessed state, its color is a pale blue, violet or even green tint. After being cut and treated, the stones are sold as finished gems with deep violet and blue casts.

During 2002, Tanzanite supplanted Blue Topaz as the authorized birthstone for December according to the American Gem Trade Association. Due to this distinction, the price of raw Tanzanite has increased by two to three times the pre-selection amount, now getting many hundred dollars for just one carat. Many jewelers, though, prefer to sell the Topaz stone and have been reluctant to accept the reassignment in monthly birthstone.

As costs have risen, interest in artificial jewels has increased too. Tanzanique is the most common variety and is used in several jewelry types.

Tanzanite Watches
Since Tanzanite is usually reserved for pieces not intended for daily use, it is not common to find a mass-market Tanzanite watch. These watches typically accent the stone with other stones, or guard them by embedding them in a protective setting.

Lucien Piccard today makes a small number of beautiful models of Tanzanite watches for women, while numerous out-of-production watches can be found on eBay. Artisan jewelry makers, of course, have always been creative enough to use this gem into made-to-order timepieces.

More on this gemstone can be found here.