Log of TZC2458 on completion of cutting
Cut Shape : Oval

Video Log of TZC2458 on completion of cutting

Log of TZC2458 in its rough state

ID # TZC2458

Geological History

Several hundred million years ago, Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain erupted. During this violent earth-shaking event, a magical process was beginning beneath the mountain’s slopes.

The intense heat and pressure caused a number of things to happen. Heated ground waters circulated through rock fractures, dissolving minerals from the surrounding rocks and redepositing them in open spaces like fractures. Here as the rock folded with time, the heat and pressure grew to a level where it was possible for Tanzanite to form. This remained constant for the many millions of years between that time and the time it was discovered by man. It is a geological process known as metamorphism

Hundreds of millions of years later it was chiseled from the crevice within which it had lain for so long and carried to the surface by miners in Block D of the Merelani Tanzanite mining area, the only place in the world where this beautiful gemstone is found. From there, it found its way to Nairobi where it ended up in the offices of Lapigems Gem Company. Here, it was examined with various tools of the trade and identified as a top class Tanzanite by our gemologists.

It was cut by Lapigems master cutters and heated in a specialized gemological oven to 600 degrees centigrade in order to remove the brownish component and bring out the classic blue-violet of Tanzanite. This is a stable and permanent treatment which all Tanzanite undergoes. A journey of 550 million years has paused here.