#Zoisite Tanzanite

[pocket-gems]

Been a while since I shared some gems so here's Zoisite, Thulite and Tanzanite. They manage Tourmalines and other stuff. Its feels like drawing for everyone except myself and my hand hurts but oh well. I like drawing ladies, it be like dat

[just-here-with-my-thoughts]

Pleochroism in gem quality zoisite var. tanzanite

Apparently we're doing this...

*my pictures, not my crystal

Ever wondered why the colour of some gemstones seems to shift as you view them from different angles? Perhaps are you were looking at a pleochroic gemstone!

Pleochroism is a body colour effect seen in transparent to translucent, optically anisotropic* crystalline material caused by differential absorption of the polarised light rays following different paths through the gemstone, and causing a change to perceived body colour when the stone is viewed from different directions.

...Okay, but what does that mean?

Pleochroism means 'many coloured'. When light passes through a crystal, it is sometimes split into two rays - each ray takes a slightly different path, and because it encounters different atoms within the crystal structure, it is modified to a different colour.

When both different coloured rays of light exit the crystal, your eye resolves them as a single colour. Clever, right? :D

The four photos above are of the same crystal. The top photos show the crystal from two different angles - one looks distinctly more purplish than the other, right? That is eye-visible pleochroism!

Even gems that show pleochroism don't always show it strongly enough to see with the naked eye. But this tanzanite crystal does.

The bottom photos show the same crystals viewed through a type of polarising filter called a dichroscope. The dichroscope is made of polarising film where each half lets through only one of the rays of coloured light - meaning you can see each of the two colours at the same time, one in each half of the filter!

But wait!- I hear you cry. Why are there THREE different colours??

Hmm well this is getting into a deeper discussion of crystal habits and their optical behaviours, so for now let's say that depending on the symmetry of the crystal, an optically anisotropic* stone can show two or three colours - but only ever two in one direction! You have to turn the crystal to see the third colour.

If a stone shows two colours we say it is dichroic, if it shows three it is trichroic. This is the maximum number of colours you will see.

When you view the tanzanite crystal in the position in the left photo, the light rays being transmitted are blue and reddish-purple. Your eyes resolve this to show a purpley-blue colour. Neat!

But in the position from the right photo, it's transmitting blue and yellow. Wild! The yellow ray dilutes some of the intensity of the blue, so the colour you see is a weaker blue tone.

The photo I'm missing from my set is the crystal viewed from top-down, which would then show a purple and yellow split through the dichroscope!

So turning the stone, or moving your head position relative to the position of the stone, really does change its colour, because you are perceiving a different set of coloured light rays being transmitted through the stone!

When fashioning a rough crystal, a lapidary (that's a stone cutter) would to orient the crystal so the best colour is face-up - ie. when you look at the finished polished stone, you will see the most attractive balance of colour. What is considered ideal varies with the stone - you might cut a very dark crystal to show its lighter colour, or a pale one to show the most intense colour it is able to!

Fun additional fact - tanzanite can be heated to improve its colour. It does this by removing the yellow element entirely, meaning you will see intense bluey-purple tones from all angles! The wonders of stone treatments!

*Edit I am misleading you by saying you will see bluey-purple in all directions... in two directions (as tanzanite is a biaxial gemstone) you will find an optic axis, which is a direction of optical isotropy in an otherwise optically anisotropic* gemstone. So in this direction, you will only have a single transmitted ray of light, not two!

*I use the phrase optically anisotropic a couple of times and it's hard to explain without a whole separate citizen lecture on crystallography, but the quick summary is that it means a crystal in which light behaves differently as it travels in different directions - such as the differential absorption resulting in different colours in pleochroism! This is as opposed to an optically isotropic crystal, where light behaves the same way in all directions of travel.

And that is a recited-from-memory summary of pleochroism! :D (please don't tell me off if I got any of it wrong I didn't go upstairs to check my notes ;_;) (I mean I didn't get any of it wrong but my quoted definition probably wasn't word perfect ^^;)

@royallykt thank you so much for your interest i hope you enjoyed learning about all this :)

[ranans-art]

ZOE SAUALPIT | HE/SHE

A charming figure in the streets of Mittgrad, always knowing what to say to have people follow her. He cares most about his little sister and garage.

[jadeseadragon]

@tanzanite_6

Natural Tanzanite Zoisite, custom design, 1.42 ct weight, point to point 7.09 × 7.15 mm, flat to flat 6.61 × 6.65 mm.

[thejewelryhut]

Modern Vibes with TheJewelryHut Designer Vintage Inspired Style Zoisite and Diamonds Gold Ring

Love is in The Air. Rekindle your Romance with TheJewelryHut Designer Vintage Inspired Style 18 KT Rose Gold Ring Adorned with One Genuine Cushion Shape Violate Zooisite (also known as Violate Tanzanite), 1.80 CTTW, and Surrounded by Several Round Shape White Brilliant Diamonds, 0.60 CTTW. Available in Ring Default Size 7.  Please contact me or Chat online to inquire about other ring sizes. This ring is ready to ship 5-7 Days.  A Certificate of Authenticity is also included.

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[the-whisperer-in-darkness]

( X )

[chocolatechipkraken]

Gemuary 2023 Day 19: Zoisite

Zoisite comes in many different varieties, like the pink thulite, rare blue tanzanite, and green anyolite, one of my personal favorites, which frequently contains these sweet ruby inclusions. I always thought anyolite looked like the flesh of a ghoul. This one is also based on kintsugi, the art of repairing broken bwls and stones with gold-dusted lacquer.

[nocturnal-stims]

Tanzanite, a variety of zoisite only found in the Simanjir District of Manyara Region in Tanzania. Although naturally reddish brown, tanzanite achieves a stable, beautiful blue to violet color with heat treatments.

🦋 Dalanhargrave on IG

[daeva-agas]

Casually lurking in Sailor Moon fandom and when I see posts mentioning the Shitennou's knightly titles, I think the translation are off. I don't know if those are just fansubs being wonky, or if even the official ones are not entirely correct...

I've also seen some posts say that "I don't understand what these means". The knightly titles are based on the image and properties associated with each gemstone in Japanese (so, if it has different meanings internationally, it's quite beside the point).

Jadeite: Knight of Resilience 忍耐 and Harmony 調和

忍耐 is often translated as "Patience" in fanworks. 忍耐 is better translated as "resilience", "perseverance", or "endurance". Even when colloquially used to say "be patient", the connotation of it is more along the lines of "endure this". The Harmony one is correct.

"Resilience" is because jadeite jade is the harder jade. "Harmony" because of its traditional usage in spiritual matters, so jade in general has the image of "peacefulness".

Nephrite: Knight of Wisdom 知恵 and Peace 安らぎ

This one makes me kind of laugh because of what Nephrite is like as a character/person. I almost always see 知恵 translated as "Intelligence". It's not wrong per se, but this term here refers to something deeper than just brain smarts, thus "wisdom". Things like wisdom that come from age, or innate perceptiveness, and so on.

安らぎ is peace, as in "inner peace". Basically, "serenity", though it's probably not a good idea to use this word in Sailor Moon for obvious reasons.

Nephrite being the native jade of China, it has been given very sagely meaning to it that persist even in Japanese symbolism. That's why it's like this, for somewhat similar reasons to jadeite's "harmony".

Kunzite: Knight of Virtue 純潔 and Benevolence 慈愛

純潔 can also mean Purity or Chastity. 慈愛 is sometimes translated as Affection, which is also not entirely wrong. It's just that the standard meaning is benevolence or mercy. "Affection" tends to be used in the context of parents and children. In this context probably not the best meaning to use.

This gemstone is associated with the Holy Mother Mary, of all things, that's why it's got very saintly imagery associated with it.

Zoisite: Knight of Purification 浄化 and Healing 癒し

The most straightforward one so I've never seen any wonky translation with this one. Those who are into healing crystals might already know this, but this title is based on the healing and purification qualities that a blue zoisite/tanzanite supposedly have.

[scienceisdope]

The gemstone was given the name ‘tanzanite’ by Tiffany & Co. after Tanzania, the country in which it was discovered. The scientific name of “blue-violet zoisite” was not thought to be sufficiently consumer friendly by Tiffany’s marketing department, who introduced it to the market in 1968. In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose tanzanite as a December birthstone, the first change to their birthstone list since 1912.

If you enjoyed this post, please give it a ❤️ and check out @scienceisdope for more science and daily facts.

Video credit: unknown (please DM me if you know/are the creator)

[megamanrecut]

And here's the consolidated list (mostly?) All from Diamond in the Rough, character notes below cut (not in same order as pics)

Considered a few different systems for assigning gems (gemstone family, value, etc.) but ultimately just went with color/relative familiarity of gem. There’s so many cool gems out there~ (I was trying to not be too repetitive with types/use more common ones though Quartz has a million interesting varieties!)

Mega Man, Blue Sapphire Sphere I wavered a lot on his ‘trinket’, Sapphire seemed obvious (especially with Proto being a ruby, both are corundum gemstones) but also considered blue diamond, alexandrite (blue/purple color shift), and aquamarine. For the jewelry, was also considering an atomic model (for chemistry?), a screwdriver, and slightly regretting not considering circlet

Roll, Amethyst Earring: primarily always wanted amethyst, but also considered heliodor, padparadscha sapphire (but it wasn’t quite the right color? and perhaps too obscure), tanzanite, morganite, zoisite, kunsite, iolite, (purple gems etc.) For shape, was considering spikes/fangs though that’s also Treble and Punk’s lol

Bass, Emerald Snake Arm Cuff: loosely based on a real arm cuff I saw in a book. Also considered black diamond, green diamond (he’s the titular ‘diamond in the rough’), and black opal

Proto Man, Ruby Aviator Badge: I went with ruby in the end, which seemed most obvious choice, but also considered red diamond and bixbite (red beryl)

Elec Man, Black Opal Ring: Also considered chatoyant Sapphire, Alexandrite (??? color shift?), chrysoberyl, angelite/anhydrite, and even hawkeye quartz (loosely inspired by a real hawkeye ‘lightning’ ring, before that I was thinking cufflinks, but seemed weird for him to become either a pair of gems, or even a single cufflink lol)

Jewel Man, Colorless Beryl (Goshenite) Monocle - also considered rock crystal, diamond, and Padparadscha sapphire. Apparently both beryl and rock crystal were historically used for eyeglasses. Monocle is a reference to gentleman thief archtypes, also they are just fancy. (Also I realized while drawing this that having a plique a jour monocle chain is probably super impractical, oh well lol)

Top Man, Imperial Topaz  Pendant in a Jeweled Egg - also considered alexandrite and spinel (for the pun, heh) and spessertite

Kalinka/Mega Girl, Rose Quartz Blossom Barrette: Pink :) though I considered other lesser known (but more valuable) pink gems

Quint, Alexandrite Wristwatch: Quint is a time traveler (of sorts), also considered model armillary sphere/astrolabe, a screwdriver, and jade or malachite or nanocrystal

Wily, Agate Cameo Belt Buckle: Loosely inspired by his skull belt in some of his game art, also considered amythist

Dr. Light, Alabaster bead on a bookmark tassel:  Dr. Light likes books! Was also considering rock crystal and goshenite

Ring Man, Zircon Hoop Bracelet: Reference to both his namesake and his carney background. Was also considering class ring (before assigning the ring to Elec Man) and a circlet. ‘Zircon’ just sounds circusy, must be the Z

Magnet Man, Garnet Horseshoe Amulet: garnets are apparently magnetic, also considered fridge magnet

Cut Man, Citrine Paperknife: for obvious reasons. I also considered topaz for the gem

Guts Man, Tourmaline Paperweight: funny/fitting pairing with the paper knife, the shape is in reference to the boulder he holds in game art (for a brief week, was a rock crystal until I realized those are clear lol smokey quartz would have made more sense)

Punk, Spinel Motorcycle Chain: ‘Spinel’ may be a derivative from Latin ’spina’ which means thorn

Rush, Labradorite Bone Collar Tag: Went for the pun!

Treble, Howlite Fang: and ditto for Treble

Others that weren’t in chapter (this list has no significance what-so-ever, I brainstormed a list of gems but also ‘trinkets’ and my brain just started associating lol)

Beat, Aquamarine Aigrette: Beat actually avoided transformation, but that’s what he would have been

Gyro Man: Mood Ring

Dr. Cossack: Selenite something or other

Dark Man: D20

Time Man: a pocket watch

Enker: Chess piece

Metal Man: A knife

Shadow Man: Also a knife, maybe jade

Yamato Man: Natsuke

Burner Man: Match Box

Fake Man: phenakite, derived from greek word for deceiver

Magic Man: Card Case

Needle Man: Rutilated quartz (it has needle-like inclusions)

Pharaoh Man: Scarab collar pin/cloak clasp

Star Man: Star Saphire?

And that's it from the notes, haha.

[marzbix-crystal]

[Image ID: A coloured digital sketch of 6 gems wearing matching uniforms on a plain background, from left to right we have my OC Tanzanite sitting on the floor pointing to a map in front of them, then we have Goshenite leaning over Tanzanite, standing above is Yellow Diamond smiling with their hands on their hips, next is my OC Citrine who is sitting opposite Tanzanite and pointing to the map, next is Blue Zoisite standing and looking at my OC Blue Diamond, who is stood rubbing the back of their neck with their other hand in their pocket. /End ID]

They are exploring distant lands!! I enjoyed scratching this out, I usually don't do group drawings

The Lunarians have at least one Tower in each region to survey the general area, (one for the islands, two for the mainlands, kind of like botw or totk because I'm?? insane.) Since the Lunarians cannot stay on Earth for long periods of time, the Gems formed an Exploration team to monitor each area every century or so, to see how it changes over time.

Leading the charge is Yellow Diamond (They/Them), although they prefer to let the younger gems figure themselves out and intervene when necessary

Blue Zoisite (They/He), wanting any excuse to get off the Home Island joined the team- he's nimble and highly observant, and can cover a lot of ground on their own

Goshenite (She/They) joined the team for confidence building, she's come real far and is more firm and more decisive. They're also very resourceful

Blue Diamond (They/Them), while similar to Bluzo in age, joined quite late- Y.D brought them on so that they weren't entirely unemployed, and it wasn't hard to persuade them since their close friend was on the team already. Blue doesn't like admitting it out loud, but they really enjoy exploring

Citrine (He/Him) is very much the heart of the team, he absolutely adores adventure. He actually begged Blue Diamond to take him with them multiple times until they finally talked to Y.D about it

Tanzanite (They/Them), while being the youngest of the group, usually leads the team meetings, as they're the best at navigation- I forgot to draw it, but they always have a little bag to bring home souvenirs for their friends back home.

[leynaeithnea]

Vocabulary Captive Prince taught me

#35

tanzanite

a blue or violet gem variety of zoisite, containing vanadium

p. 2

[silverbirching]

Is there a gem that is particularly overrated, in your opinion?

Oh boy, yes indeed. Lemme tell you a little story about Tanzanite.

Tanzanite is a blue-violet variety of the mineral zoisite. It's gorgeous, not gonna lie:

HOWEVER, because it only comes from a small mining area in Tanzania, it's been oversold for decades as an 'investment' stone, when the fact is, there's tons of the stuff, and the overwhelming majority of it is heat-treated. It has no investor value whatsoever. Also it's soft and brittle, so it's not great for rings. You see a lot of watery, lavender-colored tanzanite being sold on cruise ships and it's inevitably sold as "it will be really valuable someday."

Folks, my literal job is to assess items for sale on the secondary market, and let me tell you: jewelry is an investment in your presentation. An investment in your wardrobe. Maybe an investment in your relationship. But it does not, and almost never will, have a speculative value. If anyone is trying to sell you jewelry on the basis of it retaining or even gaining value, run.

Also stop buying tanzanite rings. You're just asking for heartache.

[sixminutestoriesblog]

tanzanite

While December babies share topaz with the November babies, November's topaz being golden-brown while December's is blue, December also lays claim to the newly discovered excitement of tanzanite.

Tanzanite, so the legend goes, was discovered by Masai herders in the Merelani Hills near Mt. Kilimanjaro. A lightning strike set the grasslands around the area on fire, forcing the herders to flee with their animals. When the fire had burned itself out and the Masai returned with their herds, they found the ground littered with beautiful dark blue stones (the government of Tanzania recognizes Jumanne Mhero Ngoma as the official discoverer of the gem). The rest of the world wouldn't find out about these stones until 1967 when a Indian prospector named Manuel de Souza, hunting for sapphires or gold depending on which story you go with, either stumbled across some of the blue gems himself or was directed there by the locals. At first he assumed they were olivine but something about them struck him as unique and so he sent some samples to a gemstone dealer friend of his and from that point on things took off. It wasn't long before the gem was discovered to be a brand new jewel. While the official name of the stone is blue zoisite, jewelry dealers knew better. In 1968, the gem was marketed as 'tanzanite' by Tiffany and Co. with the slogan that the rare new gem could only be found in two places in the entire world: "Tanzania and Tiffany's".

And Tiffanys was right. To this day, the rare stone is only found in Tanzania, in the same foothills that it was originally discovered in. There is no where else in the world these gems turn up. While I found 'lab created tanzanite' on etsy, I couldn't find any actual confirmation that the stone has ever been replicated in a lab, just that it has been imitated there. Right now, the entirety of this jewels deposits all exist in one single point, a stretch of land that's four miles long and one mile wide. This area is broken up into four sectors, half given to corporate mining and half to locals. In fact, Saniniu Laizer, a local man, mined the two largest tanzanite stones to ever have been found at 21 pounds(972 kg) and 11 pounds (5.1kg). He sold them to the government for 3.35 million USD.

Tanzanite is measured at 6.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. It is a member of the zoisite family with its natural color being a reddish brown to clear. Heat brings out its blue color which can dip almost into purple with some stones. It also shows different shades of color when viewed from different angles from red-violet to deep blue to yellow-green, though heat treatment will all but eliminate everything but the blue and violet colors and the cut of the gem can enhance a specific color as well. When viewed under cool lighting the gem appear more blue while warm lighting brings out its purple.

As a fairly new stone, to the west at least, tanzanite doesn't have much folklore to go with it. But there is some.

Tanzanite is considered a stone that brings good luck, new beginnings and prosperity. Which, yeah, that makes sense considering. In Tanzania, women that have just given birth wear blue, both their clothes and their jewelry, to give their child a healthy and positive life. Since tanzanite both changes color with heat as well as while it is turned to catch different angles, it is know as 'the stone of transformation'. Feng Shui believes that a tanzanite stone can promote peace, tranquility and open communication. It is the gift for 24th wedding anniversaries.

It is also very, very rare and limited. It has the moniker of 'the gemstone of a generation' because when the mines run dry, some guesstimates give less than twenty-five years, the tanzanite we have will be the only trace of it left.