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The mineral zoisite


Tansanit Zoisit Gruppe Tanzanite in faceted drop cut

Beryl and its subspecies

In 1805, the mineral zoisite was first found in Carinthia, Austria. At first it was called saulapite after the place where it was found on the Saulape. However, when the natural scientist Sigmund Zois, Baron von Edelstein (1747 - 1819), examined it more closely and recognized it as an independent mineral, it was named zoisite in his honor.
Tansanit Edelsteine

The zoisite group

In its pure form, zoisite is colorless. However, when mixed with various minerals, yellow, green, red, blue or gray tones are created.
Tansanit Ovalschliff

Tanzanite – a sapphire blue to amethyst violet gemstone

The best known and most important variety of zoisite for the jewelry market was only discovered in Tanzania in 1967 and is now known as tanzanite. What is striking about this blue to violet gemstone is its very pronounced pleochroism , i.e. depending on the angle it is viewed from, a tanzanite appears in a different shade of color.
The transparency and excellent purity of tanzanite are most beautifully displayed in a faceted cut.
For more information about this popular gemstone, see Tanzanite .

Thulite – the zoisite in an intense red color

Opaque and bright red – this is how the zoisite variety called thulite can be described. It was first found in 1820 in the Norwegian province of Telemark. Its name is derived from the legendary island of Thule, which in Germanic mythology represents the northern end of the world – probably an allusion to the origin of the zoisite mineral, which originally comes from Norway.
Because of its strong red color, thulite is also called the strawberry gemstone. It is usually cut into cabochons with a smooth surface.

Anyolit ungeschliffen An unpolished anyolite (1)

Anyolite – a combination of zoisite and rubies

Anyolite is a green zoisite that occurs together with red opaque rubies and black hornblende. Because of the striking color contrasts, this zoisite is often used as an ornamental stone.

(1) Image source: By Hannes Grobe (Own work) [ CC BY-SA 2.5 ], via Wikimedia Commons

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