In 1967, when the first tanzanite had been faceted and prepared for the market, jewelers and the public knew nothing of the gem. They had never seen its blue color or heard its name. To introduce the world to tanzanite, Tiffany and Company launched a public education program.

Tiffany prepared educational materials that would make consumers aware of the gem, and they prepared materials to help jewelers understand it, market it, and explain its characteristics to their customers. When a new, previously unknown gemstone enters the market, every person who sells and buys must be educated before transactions can occur.

More recently, in 2003, TanzaniteOne Mining Ltd, the leading miner of tanzanite, and a company that cuts, manufactures, wholesales and retails tanzanite gems and jewelry, established The Tanzanite Foundation, a non-profit organization that promotes tanzanite. The Foundation prepares educational materials for retailers and consumers, assists with retail staff training, and assists retailers with tanzanite promotion. The Foundation is also a participant in the Tucson Tanzanite Protocol, an organization that works to ensure that tanzanite has an ethical route to market, similar to how the Kimberley Process works to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the diamond market.

Tanzanite map: This map shows the location in northern Tanzania where all of the world’s known commercial tanzanite production occurs.