Tanzanite can have an intense and lo deep violetish blue color. Tanzanite is the violet blue to blue violet variety of the mineral zoisite. It is mined commercially only in one area of the world: the Merelani Hills of Tanzania, which is where it gets its name.

Tanzanite is the blue and violet variety of the mineral zoisite caused by small amounts of vanadium. Tanzanite belongs to the epidote mineral group.

it is found and mined in a small area only four kilometers wide and two kilometers long at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro in the Manyara Region of Northern

.Tanzanite is noted for its remarkably strong trichroism, appearing alternately blue, violet and burgundy depending on crystal orientation. Tanzanite can also appear differently when viewed under different lighting conditions.

The most valuable stones are an intense, rich blue with high clarity. Tanzanite is strongly pleochroic and as the stone is rotated you can see blue, reddish purple, and bluish green or greenish yellow colors. Most tanzanite on the market is heated except for mineral specimens prized for their strong trichroic colors