In October 2021 we were approached to make a very special set of bespoke jewellery using heirloom diamonds and Tanzanites for a customers golden (that's 50 years!) wedding anniversary.
Tanzanites are a gemstone found in just one place on earth, Tanzania, where I visited in 2016. One of the rarest gems on the planet, they are a variety of the mineral zoisite and are most famous for their intense royal blue colour with flashes of purple and red.
This set of jewellery was to comprise of a showstopping ring featuring an oval cut 3.51ct Tanzanite flanked by diamond and a pair of earrings with pear cut tanzanites dangling below 3 diamonds, all set in 18ct Fairtrade white gold.
Choosing the stones
Part of the bespoke process is choosing the gemstones. As with all coloured stones, there is variation in the exact colour of Tanzanites.
Some are more blue dominant and others more purple. There is also some variation in the overall saturation and intensity of the colours. This also means there is variation in the price which is also affected by the size. The best way to demonstrate this is to view a selection of stones and we were able to procure a range of stones with slightly different characteristics to show our customer who chose the selection you can see to the right.
Fairtrade white gold
All of the pieces were made from 18ct Fairtrade white gold ensuring that the miners who mined the gold received a fair price for their hard work and are able to work in safe conditions.