Collection: Zoisite

Zoisite is a mineral belonging to the silicate group, more precisely to sorosilicates. It is known for its diversity of colors and its gem varieties, such as tanzanite and thulite .

🧪 Chemical and physical characteristics

• Chemical formula : Ca₂Al₃(SiO₄)(Si₂O₇)O(OH)

• Crystal system : orthorhombic

• Hardness (Mohs scale) : 6 to 7

• Density : about 3.1 to 3.4

• Cleavage : perfect in one direction, which makes it fragile

• Luster : glassy

🎨 Colors and varieties

Zoisite can appear in several colors depending on the impurities present:

• Tanzanite : blue to purple (due to vanadium) — most valuable variety, discovered in Tanzania.

• Thulite : pink to red (due to manganese), opaque variety often used in ornamentation.

• Anyolite : green zoisite with ruby ​​inclusions — a very colorful stone, used in sculpture and jewelry.

📍 Origin and deposits

The main deposits are located in:

• Tanzania (especially for tanzanite)

• Norway (for thulite)

• Austria (place of its first discovery, in the Saualpe region)

• India , Pakistan , Kenya , South Africa , etc.

💎 Use

• Jewelry : especially tanzanite, cut into precious stones.

• Lithotherapy : stone of transformation, growth and emotional comfort.

• Ornamentation : thulite and anyolite are cut into cabochons, figurines, decorative objects.

🧠 Interesting Facts

• Tanzanite was popularized by Tiffany & Co. beginning in the 1960s.

• Zoisite was named in honor of Baron Sigmund Zois von Edelstein , an 18th-century Slovenian mineralogist.