Tanzanite Color Information - Section 4

Regarding tanzanite color, quality tanzanite retailers have begun listing their inventory with standardized GIA color descriptions. The terms used to describe tanzanite color, up until recently, have included the A-scale. It was quite simple and consisted of:

• "A" - Light blue with some grayish overtones;
• "AA" - Medium sky-blue with very little, if any, grayish overtones;
• "AAA" - Dark blue with no grayish overtones, exhibiting flashes of purple to purplish-red when viewed under different types of lighting conditions; and,
• "AAA+" - Very dark blue with strong flashes of secondary and tertiary colors when viewed under different types of lighting conditions.

One of the problems with this style of tanzanite color grading is that it was simply too subjective. A tanzanite that was "AAA" in the opinion of one person, was considered only "AA" by another. While there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the "marketing scale of color," in our view, a better way to describe tanzanite color was needed.

The "Tanzanite GIA Color Scale" link to the left contains useful information as to how you will see tanzanite color listed in our store on any new tanzanite in our inventory. If you have any questions regarding our tanzanite, or tanzanite color in general, please view the additional information in the "Tanzanite GIA Color Scale" section or contact us by email.