Yellow Zoisite from Tanzania
As it 'should' be called.
Exactly. It really annoys me when they call it 'Tanzanite' to imply rarity or value.
They say that Tanzanite is rare because it's a one-location gemstone, and they then imply that 'Yellow Tanzanite' is even rarer because less is found than the blue variety.
What they fail to tell us is that it's actually Yellow Zoisite - and Yellow Zoisite can be found in multiple locations - including Kenya, Pakistan and Madagascar. It is not a one-location gemstone.
Regardless of location, any colour other than blue should be called 'Zoisite' - even if its from Tanzania. The GIA are very clear in that only the blue variety is 'Tanzanite'.
I still believe that, one day, Tanzanite (proper 'Tanzanite' - the blue material) will be found in one of the other Zoisite mines around the world too.
15 years ago, the gem industry said that Alexandrite was exclusive to Russia - and once it was gone, it was gone. It's since been found in India, Brazil, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Madagascar.........
The industry also told us that Ametrine was a one-location gemstone (Bolivia). It's since been found in Brazil too.
I wouldn't be too surprised to see Blue Tanzanite from Madagascar or Brazil in the future.
