2024 is coming to an end, and Christmas is well on its way! Many of us either are or have friends who were born in December.
Tanzanite
Tanzanite takes its name from its country of origin – Tanzania. It is believed to have formed over 585 million years ago. However, tanzanite lay undiscovered until 1967 when it was unearthed by a Massai tribesman. Tanzanite was identified as the blue-violet variety of the mineral zoisite. Tiffany & Co. were instrumental in the naming of tanzanite, therefore making it more marketable and consumer friendly.
Tanzanite can only be found in Tanzania, near Mt Kilimanjaro. With such a limited supply remaining, it is believed that over the next 20 years, all mines will eventually be depleted of this rare gem. Tanzanite has become sacred to the Massai, for example, it is given to women after childbirth as an offering of prosperity. Now the stone is traded throughout the world and is gifted for a 24th wedding anniversary to represent uniqueness.
Turquoise
Turquoise gets its name from the French ‘turquois’ meaning ‘Turkish,’ relating to the Silk Road the mineral travelled from Persia, through Turkey and subsequently to Europe. Turquoise can be found in many locations worldwide, most notably in Iran, Egypt, China, and the USA. This stunning stone has seemingly always been popular, in fact, the Ancient Egyptians used turquoise as far back as 3000BC. The opening of King Tutankhamun’s tomb revealed the famous Pharaoh’s burial mask inlaid with turquoise amongst other precious gems.
Persians also adopted turquoise as their national stone, the domes and walls of palaces were adorned with its intense blue hues said to represent heaven. The most sought-after variety is the ‘Persian turquoise’ . This pure sky blue colour has no green overtones or black veins. The largest known rough turquoise was found in China, weighing 225 kilograms and is kept in the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Natural History in China. Surprisingly, turquoise is the only gemstone to be recognised as an official colour.
Topaz
Blue topaz generally is said to represent calmness and inner peace. It comes in a range of colours, not called just ‘blue’ but also ‘Swiss blue’, ‘sky blue’, and ‘London blue’. London blue is considered the most desirable due to its deeper and darker hue.
The word topaz comes from the Greek word topazion, which in turn came from the Sanskrit name for fire. Topaz was discovered in 1960 by a British explorer in Brazil. Although we associate topaz with the colour blue, the first discovered stone was yellow.
The Natural History Museum in London is now home to the largest cut topaz at 15 centimetres long and weighing an undeniably huge 9,381 carats.
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