The people of Tanzania are well known to be creative masters, and whatever your budget you’re bound to come home laden with handicrafts, jewelry, tribal trinkets, furniture and works of art.
Some unique items of Tanzania.
Gemstones, Makonde sculptures, wood carvings, Kangas and Kikois, Spices, batiks, Tingatinga paintings, Tribal Jewelry, Hand painted pottery, Brass and other metal antiques, Mkeka mats and woven items, Carvings, Dolls, Musical Instruments, Masks, Puppets, Books, Tapes, Posters, Stamps, Coins.
GEMSTONES - TANZANITE
Tanzania is world’s only source of Tanzanite, a semi-precious stone found in the open mines around Arusha. It is one of the newest and most exotically colored gemstone, and belongs to Zoisite mineral species.
QUALITY: The deep blue of Tanzanite is magnificent, ranging from ultramarine to a light purplish blue. It is very rarely a pure blue and usually exhibits rich purple overtones. The most coveted color is a blue which shows a purplish hue shimmering around it, which is extremely spectacular in sizes above ten carats. The stone comes in three grades, ‘A’, ‘AA’, and ‘AAA’. ‘AAA’ is of highest quality.
Tanzanite is routinely heat treated to permanently draw out its exotic bluish-purple color. (though often it is blue colored when first mined, it can also be brown).
CAUTION: Fakes are abundant. Don’t buy from dealers on the street or anyone who looks suspicious. Most licensed curios shops and dealers stock different grades, cuts, and colors of the popular gem.
Please make sure to follow export procedure.
CARE: Tanzanite is a brittle stone. Although it can be worn daily, care should be taken to protect it from knocks, pressure and extreme temperature changes. Do not use a home ultrasonic to clean jewelry with tanzanite.
HISTORY: Millions of years ago, metamorphous slates, gneiss stone and quartzite shaped impressive flat insular mountains were formed on the wide plains near Mt. Kilimanjaro. In the core of these unusual rocks, the valuable crystals are stored. For a long time they remained hidden until one day some Maasai herdsmen passing by noticed crystals sparkling in the sun and picked them up. Tanzanite was first discovered in 1967 in Tanzania.
LEGEND: Legend says that it was Maasai cattle herders that first noticed this stone some 30 years ago after a fire caused by lightening burned areas in Tanzania. The herders noticed that brown Zoisite crystals had turned a deep blue-purple due to the heat from the fire. Because this is such a new gemstone, there is little folklore or healing properties surrounding this stone.
NEWS: In October 2002, Tanzanite was added to the official birthstone list by the American Gem Trade Association as an additional birthstone for December.
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