3 Kg Tanzanite Breaks Record

The largest ever tanzanite was mined by TanzaniteOne at its Merelani Tanzanite Mine in Northern Tanzania. The three kilogram rough gem has been named "The Mawenzi" after Kilimanjaro’s second highest peak.

The discovery was made 270 meters underground at the company’s Bravo Shaft, the southernmost shaft of TanzaniteOne’s license area. Weighing in at 16,839 carats (well over 3 kilograms) and measuring 220mm x 80mm x 70mm, the rough tanzanite piece is impressive in both size and structure, and according to known records, is the world’s largest single piece of tanzanite to have ever been mined. "It is the size of a brick," company spokeswoman Renata Da Silva said. "The market value of polished tanzanite varies between $200 and $2,000 per carat depending on size and quality", she added.

"We were reluctant to name it Uhuru, after Kilimanjaro’s highest peak, on the off chance that a larger piece is ever found," said Ian Harebottle, TanzaniteOne’s President and COO, about the name of the stone.

Tanzanite was discovered by a Masai tribesman near Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest mountain, in 1967. The rock was named and first sold by New York jeweler Tiffany & Co. the following year. It's only found in the Merelani hills, in a 5 kilometer (3 mile) strip of land in the north of Tanzania.

"This really is a sizeable stone, comparable to what the Cullinan Diamond is to the diamond industry," TanzaniteOne Deputy Chairman Ami Mpungwe said. The 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was found in South Africa in 1905 and parts of it are now incorporated into Britain's royal crown and scepter.

TanzaniteOne’s plans to analyze and evaluate the piece before any final decision is taken on the possible cutting and polishing of individual tanzanite gems from this crystal. TanzaniteOne is considering putting The Mawenzi on show for a period before cutting and polishing it.

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Some source material reprinted with permission from IDEX Magazine (http://www.idexonline.com/).