Tanzanite

[Loveinamist]

Expert just said all tanzanite heat treated no matter whether you buy it at Harrod’s or QVC.

 

[Lemonpop]

Expert just said all tanzanite heat treated no matter whether you buy it at Harrod’s or QVC.

Just googled it "some Tanzanite can be blue due to natural heating underground and it is important that Tanzanite is heated and NOT heat treated".

 

[Loveinamist]

He said it has a brown colour on mining and the heat brings out the blue.

 

[Deleted member 21102]

What were we told about tanzanite back in the day? Does the amount of heat applied alter the depth of the blue and command huge prices? If so, and we weren't told, a big con.

 

[donna255]

Yes, always known that. It comes out of the ground a brown colour as Loveinamist said. You can get pink Tanzanite and bi coloured too. The latter sold on Gems TV who try to make it sound very exciting.

The story always told it was tribesmen who found it, and it had been hit by lightening. That was the first time they ever saw it purple/blue and took it into town.

No crystal, the amount of heat does not affect what shade of blue it becomes. They heat it, and it turns the colour it is. Extra heat will make no difference.

 

[Grizelda]

Long ago, QVC sold 'blue' topaz. The topaz had been colour treated from clear to blue. They stopped selling it because the blue colour faded over time.

 

[donna255]

I have blue Topaz, London Blue and Swiss rings for years, like more than 10 years at least it has never faded. It is still sold on Gems.

My aunt's birthstone was Topaz, and she hated it because it was a yellow colour. They call it Imperial Topaz, and now it is very expensive.

 

[Twilight]

I have blue Topaz, London Blue and Swiss rings for years, like more than 10 years at least it has never faded. It is still sold on Gems.

My aunt's birthstone was Topaz, and she hated it because it was a yellow colour. They call it Imperial Topaz, and now it is very expensive.

I love London Blue topaz, it's elegant & stylish. I have an emerald cut solitaire that I bought from the Q many years ago & it always gets compliments.

 

[donna255]

Yes, my London Blue is emerald cut and a gorgeous deep blue. I got it half price in the BCC way back in the early days.

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

I have rings in the 3 shades of blue Topaz from Q and local retailers and the colour is still ok.

I dug out a London Blue which I hadn’t worn for years and it looked a bit dull but a day or two of wearing and washing hands and it was back to full colour.

 

[candycane]

I've a couple of swiss blue topaz that' I've had for over 20 years and they are as clear and blue as the day I bought them (from Q). Decent gold bands as well.

CC

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Last week during a clear out and reorganisation i hoked out a load of jewellery I haven’t tworn for ages (lost weight but now regained). One was an Opel and pink sapphire and it was lovely and got many compliments. Lovely heavy quality and unusual - a long time since anything like those on Q.

 

[Deleted member 21102]

I'm now curious about the semi-precious stone colours, too, eg Lola Rose - how do they achieve these? And stones like Mookite which apparently comes out of the earth in different colours, or so I've picked up from QVC - are these for real or also heat treated?

Apologies - I'm on a learning curve!

 

[Loveinamist]

What were we told about tanzanite back in the day? Does the amount of heat applied alter the depth of the blue and command huge prices? If so, and we weren't told, a big con.

He said the heat doesn’t affect the A-AAAA colour, it will go the depth of blue that the stone category is.

 

[donna255]

I'm now curious about the semi-precious stone colours, too, eg Lola Rose - how do they achieve these? And stones like Mookite which apparently comes out of the earth in different colours, or so I've picked up from QVC - are these for real or also heat treated?

Apologies - I'm on a learning curve!

Those are that colour when they come from the earth like jasper etc. The most colourful ones are picked for jewellery.

Amethyst can be heated to sometimes bring out a deeper shade, other times in can come out of the earth pale lilac, more pinkish or bright deep purple.

Diamonds can also be heat treated, hence you get blue, yellow and pink diamonds. These of course will have a hint of those colours in them already. I saw real pink diamonds in jewellers very, very expensive and not the bright pink you sometimes see but a soft peach pink.

Rubies are filled with glass as they have natural cracks. But emeralds have cracks but never filled.

I got a book free from Gems way back with info on each gemstone and what is accepted with treatments by the jewellery industry.

Tanzanite is a soft stone, so needs to be treated with care. Does not like water and can start to fade if you have your hands in an out with soap etc.

 

[Deleted member 21102]

Thank you for being so helpful.

 

[Lemonpop]

Those are that colour when they come from the earth like jasper etc. The most colourful ones are picked for jewellery.

Amethyst can be heated to sometimes bring out a deeper shade, other times in can come out of the earth pale lilac, more pinkish or bright deep purple.

Diamonds can also be heat treated, hence you get blue, yellow and pink diamonds. These of course will have a hint of those colours in them already. I saw real pink diamonds in jewellers very, very expensive and not the bright pink you sometimes see but a soft peach pink.

Rubies are filled with glass as they have natural cracks. But emeralds have cracks but never filled.

I got a book free from Gems way back with info on each gemstone and what is accepted with treatments by the jewellery industry.

Tanzanite is a soft stone, so needs to be treated with care. Does not like water and can start to fade if you have your hands in an out with soap etc.

I clean my jewellery with a jewellers cloth and a very soft babies toothbrush. I would never dream of washing my hands wearing jewellery. When we used to go out my rings were popped in my pocket if I went to the loo.

 

[Twilight]

Those are that colour when they come from the earth like jasper etc. The most colourful ones are picked for jewellery.

Amethyst can be heated to sometimes bring out a deeper shade, other times in can come out of the earth pale lilac, more pinkish or bright deep purple.

Diamonds can also be heat treated, hence you get blue, yellow and pink diamonds. These of course will have a hint of those colours in them already. I saw real pink diamonds in jewellers very, very expensive and not the bright pink you sometimes see but a soft peach pink.

Rubies are filled with glass as they have natural cracks. But emeralds have cracks but never filled.

I got a book free from Gems way back with info on each gemstone and what is accepted with treatments by the jewellery industry.

Tanzanite is a soft stone, so needs to be treated with care. Does not like water and can start to fade if you have your hands in an out with soap etc.

My grandfather was a jeweller & when I was a child amethyst geodes fascinated me - all that jagged purple, I could never decide if they were teeth or chopped up blackcurrant jelly.

Magnificent Amethyst Geode (Uruguay)

Captivating Amethyst Geode from Uruguay A magnificent amethyst geode featuring large translucent crystals and the richest of purple colour. This natural quartz mineral which was carefully chosen by the team at Stone Mania is a one off piece that certainly won't...

www.stonemania.co.uk

 

[Twilight]

I clean my jewellery with a jewellers cloth and a very soft babies toothbrush. I would never dream of washing my hands wearing jewellery. When we used to go out my rings were popped in my pocket if I went to the loo.

You are good, the only ones I'm careful with are pearls & even when I'm wearing them I spray perfume. My wedding band has never been taken off but the rest stays on all day until I go to bed or do hands on cooking - kneading dough, making pastry or biscuits by hand etc. I always keep my rings on when washing my hands so they get a clean as well. My grandfather said that if jewellery was made properly it could withstand what life threw at it.

 

[donna255]

I used to love the Caribbean Jewellery cleaner which was bought over by Dave Bradford, then brought to IW. It was the only thing I used to buy from them. Then it disappeared.