Many of you have been asking what direction loose tanzanite prices are going. Tanzanite pricing has indeed been volatile over the recent years, but I believe the best is yet to come. It is now 2012, and the last decade has been quite a wild ride as far as tanzanite prices are concerned. We have seen the lows in the late 90s, and the highs of 2005, and this would suggest that there has been no stability in tanzanite prices. I sort of believe that there is some truth in this notion. When compared to traditional investments, tanzanite has been anything but a proven performer. This is not to suggest that tanzanite is not a good investment, moreover it is a testament to its price volatility alone. Such price instability within the coming years is expected to wane. And, this is for good reason. First of all, let’s take a look at how the tanzanite business has changed over the last couple years.

People ask me all of the time how the tanzanite business has changed over the last decade. One of the biggest changes has been the high number of vendors from which people may purchase tanzanite. There are online retailers, jewelry stores, collectors, and even Walmart! (arrrrrgh!) This fact has created quite a bit of competition within the market place and has driven prices lower. Needless to say, any vendor which has survived/remained in business throughout the better part of the last decade is more than likely going to be around for a long time. As a consumer you need to be aware of several important issues when purchasing fine tanzanite and my other articles address these items. But, back to the question at hand. Where are tanzanite prices going?

With the first quarter of 2012 behind us, many of you may be wondering what the trend in tanzanite prices currently is. We take into consideration several factors such as current pricing at recent trade shows, other website pricing, as well as faceted rough pricing in Tanzania. Prices in Hong Kong and the Tucson Gem Show lead us to believe that tanzanite prices will be firmer into the fall of 2012. For example, prices on well-colored, clean goods in the 3 to 5 carat size range have been seen at between $400-$550 per carat, with some as high as $700 per carat. Richly-colored tanzanite in major metropolitan areas has been seen/verified as listed for, and selling as high as, $1000 per carat. Since Internet pricing is based primarily on tradeshow pricing, you should expect to see prices near $600 per carat. This price point, incidentally, is what we have been seeing online recently at other online retailers. Faceted rough pricing in Tanzania is slightly below this price point due to the fact that most of this poorly faceted material has to be sent to cutting houses in Thailand to be re-faceted prior to being offered for sale as finished goods here in the US and Europe. All of the above notwithstanding, we believe that tanzanite prices will continue to be firmer into the fall. Our year-end price projection is in the $750 to $800 per carat range for well-colored finished material in the 3 to 5 carat sizes.

During the past twelve years that we have been selling fine tanzanite online, we have seen quite a fluctuation in the price of tanzanite. Back in the late 90′s we saw prices as low as $200 per carat. In the early 2000′s, this value had grown to between $600 and $800 per carat! Quite a range! I would say that for those of you who are considering a tanzanite purchase, now is the time! We believe that the supply of tanzanite is relatively stable within the market, and there is quite a bit of support at these levels ($550+). With the advent of new mining techniques, we are forecasting a steady supply of high-quality tanzanite for the very near and not-so-near future. As always, if you have any questions related to tanzanite pricing, please contact me through our web form at eTanzanite.com.

Thx for reading,
john