Two raw tanzanite crystals (left) and three cut and polished gemstones (right). Tanzanite is the blue and violet variety of the mineral zoisite and is caused by a small admixture of vanadium. Strongly pleochroic it displays rich and variable colouring when viewed from different angles. Its occurrence is restricted to only a small mining area in the Manyara Region of Tanzania.

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Photo credit: © DIRK WIERSMA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: -, admixture, africa, african, blue, crystal, crystalline, crystallography, earth, faceted, gemstone, geological, geology, magenta, manyara, mineral, mineralogy, pleochroic, pleochroism, purple, raw, restricted, sciences, silicate, sorosilicate, tanzania, tanzanite, vanadium, violet, zoisite