FAQ\'s about Tanzanite:
What color is better?
The finest stones will show a blue primary color with maybe ten percent of purple secondary hue by day. By night, under a light bulb, the purple secondary increases to about twenty percent. The purple tends to add a regal velvety appearance.
Is tanzanite heat treated?
Yes, tanzanite in it\'s natural form is normally a brown color. Legends say that the affect of heat treatment was first discovered when brown zoisite crystals laying on the ground were caught in a fire set by lightning that swept through the grass covered Merelani Hills of Tanzania. The Masai herders who drive cattle in the area noticed the beautiful blue color and picked the crystals up, becoming the first tanzanite collectors.
Should I buy it as an investment, I hear all this talk about prices going up?
In my opinion, no, buying gemstones should be something you do because you like them. It should never be a major part of an investment strategy. An interesting article I read a few years back suggested that gemstones are hard assets like gold or silver, but they exist in an imperfect market. Unlike stocks, bonds and CD\'s that investors can buy and sell anytime the market is open for a set price, with gemstones to have a sale possible, there has to be a willing buyer and all prices are open to negotiation, so as you can see its a much trickier market.

Tanzanite is one of the rare exceptions to the usual relationship between size and rarity. Most gem varieties become more valuable, as size increases. Tanzanite appears to require more mass to achieve its finest quality (generally above about 4 carats) . For this reason, a one-carat, gem-quality tanzanite is actually rarer than a 5-, 10-, or 20-carat stone of the same quality. Its another example of the nature of colored gems, and why they generally can\'t be classified as easily as something more uniform like a diamond