What is the color range of tanzanite?
Tanzanite varies in color from rich, velvety blue to an exotic violet. Tanzanite is classified as ‘violetish-blue’ denoting that the color is predominantly blue over violet or ‘bluish-violet’ denoting that the color is more violet over blue. Once cut and polished, the stone becomes a kaleidoscope of royal blue, violet, indigo, lilac and periwinkle shades. Different hues appeal to different tastes. The more intense the color, the rarer the tanzanite and hence the more expensive the price per carat. Less than 1% of all tanzanite mined qualifies for HKD Laboratories’ top color rating of Intense (note: some laboratories use vivid or exceptional as their top rating).
