Tanzanite Rumors

kittkatt

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I've been watching JTV quite a bit since we got cable TV, and they're always talking about how Tanzanite won't be available to purchase for much longer b/c the Tanzanite mines are almost depleted.
I just LOVE Tanzanite
and was hoping that maybe some day I'd be able to own a really good quality Tanzanite ring. I have a few Tanzanites which I bought on sale while I was still working, but they're not the top-grade quality. Does anyone know anything about these Tanzanite rumors being true??


~KK~
 

forensic

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Well, what I found on the web indicates that they may be depleted in a couple decades (some sites state specifically 15 years..... er.) But then, another one states that it would likely just require better equipment to find more... It's an issue with a stone that can only be found in one country... (I think, anyway...)
 

glitch

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I didn't hear anything about it! I hope they find more! maybe, kinda sorta, not really! I dont know if I think they should dig anymore holes... we're kind of wrecking things!! I like the way it looks though!
 

strange_wings

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Even if they were to become rarer, it wouldn't be impossible to get one. Stones can be taken out of old jewelry - even recut if large enough.
 

pookie-poo

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I imagine it's just like diamonds (which really are a dime a dozen) and they're just trying to make them more marketable and more expensive. Carat for carat, emeralds are far more expensive, and much rarer than diamonds, but the emerald cartel isn't nearly as strong as the DeBeers diamond cartel. The DeBeers control very tightly, how many diamonds are mined, cut and put on the market, to keep the prices as high as possible. I've heard those same rumors about Tanzanite, since the stone first came on the market (my father is a certified colored stone gemologist.), but I haven't really seen that they've become any harder to obtain, and the quality seems to still be high for the stones that are available.
 

denice

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I have also heard that high quality rubies and saphires are also much rarer and would also be much more expensive than diamonds. I have always actually preferred some of the other gems to diamonds especially after all the heartbreak that blood diamonds have caused in Africa.
 

lsanders

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Tanzanite is a blueish, purpleish color.

I love it too, but there's just too many human rights issues with it that I just can't buy it in good conscience. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I've only had one piece of it and it fell out of the setting.

There is a similar stone, iolite, that's only considered "semi-precious" that looks a lot like Tanzanite. I think I'll replace the stone I had with that.

This is Tanzanite:


This is iolite:
 

krazy kat2

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Those are such beautiful stones. I really like them, but for some reason, I just have never gotten one, and I had am constantly buying jewelry with beautiful stones. Too bad gemlady hasn't been on for awhile. She would be the one to keep up on such things. You could pm her and ask.
 

tara g

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We were just talking about this with people at our table on the cruise. My mom has a HUGE Tanzanite ring she bought in St. Maarten 9 years ago for ~$6000 or so (it appraised for $20,000 in the US). I believe it is about 6 carats of Tanzanite set in gold. I LOVE that ring. Rob wants me to get it and sell it, because the rumor was it appraises 40% more in value every year (not sure if there is any truth to that, it was something that came up in conversation on the ship). I would love to have a smaller Tanzanite ring (my fingers are tiny! Hers would be MASSIVE on me!) though. On the ship they had some nice Tanzanite and diamond rings, but they were still on the pricey side. I hope the beautiful stone doesn't become depleted, but it might make her ring become a great investment!
 

lunasmom

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Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

I imagine it's just like diamonds (which really are a dime a dozen) and they're just trying to make them more marketable and more expensive. Carat for carat, emeralds are far more expensive, and much rarer than diamonds, but the emerald cartel isn't nearly as strong as the DeBeers diamond cartel. The DeBeers control very tightly, how many diamonds are mined, cut and put on the market, to keep the prices as high as possible. I've heard those same rumors about Tanzanite, since the stone first came on the market (my father is a certified colored stone gemologist.), but I haven't really seen that they've become any harder to obtain, and the quality seems to still be high for the stones that are available.


I hate how DeBeers put the false sense of rarity with Diamonds. I imagine that Tanzanite is like that as well. In fact I remember when chain-jewelry stores began selling in in the late 90s (or at least the area I was living at the time) claimed that they were going fast and to buy one soon. Ten years later they're still around.
 

iandavid

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Hello,

Tanzanite is a beautiful stone without doubt. For some years now I have been hearing scare stories about how scarce it is. One day it may run out but as for now I think we are safe.

Itis simply a questionof as others sy digging deeper (excuse the unitended pun) and in using old stones.

Hope this helps and goodlook with your collection.
 

gemlady

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It also depends on the color saturation of the stone. There is much more of the pale lavender than the deeper blue on the market.
 
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kittkatt

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Originally Posted by gemlady

It also depends on the color saturation of the stone. There is much more of the pale lavender than the deeper blue on the market.
I see quite a bit of the "cheaper" Tanzanite which isn't as expensive, but that's b/c it's lower quality than the dark blue color which is where the real quality & money value lies.

According to what they're saying on JTV, they are still mining the Tanzanite, but what they're finding is the cheaper quality stone. And they don't expect to find much more top grade quality, b/c apparently the miners are so far down into the mine now that they're close to putting a halt on mining it b/c all they're getting is basically "junk". I don't know how true all this is..


I have noticed that the truly great high quality stones have really gone up in price just in the past few weeks: what was once probably a $500-$1000 Tanzanite is now costing anywhere from $2000 and up.
They were showing some last night that were $8000 and more. Of course the price of gold has gone sky-high also, so that probably also has something to do with the cost going up so high.


Thanks peeps for your input.
It is appreciated.


~KK~
 
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kittkatt

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Originally Posted by lsanders

I love it too, but there's just too many human rights issues with it that I just can't buy it in good conscience.
I'm curious about this statement. What exactly does this mean??


~KK~
 

glitch

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The conditions in the mines are bad, yes. My Issue with buying anykind of stones is that they have to dig up the ground and when one spot is gone they have to dig up another! So pretty though!
 
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