Puzzled by the tanzanite hype

[sharonk]

Slightly off topics but I have a friend from Tanzania.
She lives over here with her hubby who is a vicar and they have two grown up kids. They have lived in the uk for a very long time but still keep in touch with family and friends in Tanzania. One of them bought some land to build a house. When they were doing the foundations they hit a rock seam and had to get someone out to check it out.
They had hit a seam of emerald.
They had to go to the mayor who declared anything on their land included the earth below and anything it contained, valuable or not, the landowners property.
Nice don't you think?
I can't remember if they decided to build over the seam or move the house to another part of the land. I am sure she said the person involved didn't want it mined, not that it could have been that deep down

 

[Wornoutcreditcard]

Slightly off topics but I have a friend from Tanzania.
She lives over here with her hubby who is a vicar and they have two grown up kids. They have lived in the uk for a very long time but still keep in touch with family and friends in Tanzania. One of them bought some land to build a house. When they were doing the foundations they hit a rock seam and had to get someone out to check it out.
They had hit a seam of emerald.
They had to go to the mayor who declared anything on their land included the earth below and anything it contained, valuable or not, the landowners property.
Nice don't you think?
I can't remember if they decided to build over the seam or move the house to another part of the land. I am sure she said the person involved didn't want it mined, not that it could have been that deep down

I think it's a nice find, as for what he mayor said, I can't comment this isn't a political forum and my views won't be very popular.

 

[sharonk]

I think it's a nice find, as for what he mayor said, I can't comment this isn't a political forum and my views won't be very popular.

That's ok, I'm not asking for a comment, political or not, I was just saying what happened to someone.

 

[Brissles]

I too remember when Dale first presented Tanzanite some 7 or 8 years ago and pontificated that there was only 10 years of the stuff left to be mind. There was also a huge advertising campaign in the press, and a lengthy article in the Telegraph about it being a wonderful investment. It amazed me that this (beautiful) stone was unearthed in the 1960's yet it took another 40 years for all the publicity to begin ! er why ?

To add to the kudos, it was graded into multiples of A grades and now there are chips of it in silver jewellery, accompanied with pretty names like 'lavender' tanzanite. These advertising companies never cease to amaze me, but then Joe public is very gullible.

I remember Q telling us that the amount of platinum left in the world would cover the size of a football pitch an inch thick. Anyone else remember that one ?

 

[sharonk]

I remember Q telling us that the amount of platinum left in the world would cover the size of a football pitch an inch thick. Anyone else remember that one ?

Haha, but the amount of BS that comes out of the mouths of presenters each day would probably cover lots more football pitches and a lot deeper than 1 inch!

 

[MrMarple]

I remember one of the guest presenters at the beginning of Q stocking Tanzanite saying that originally it was called Purple Zoisite, but it was changed to Tanzanite because Zoisite sounded too much like 'suicide'.

I've no idea if it was true, but I've never forgotten it.

 

[cheesecake]

I really don't 'get' people buying things for the rarity of them anyway. Sounds really trite but I buy things because I like the way they look, no matter if they cost £1 or £100. I have a stunning blue topaz and white topaz cluster, real BIG stone, set in silver, and it annoys all hell out of me when someone gasps (in a shop or something) says how stunning it is, then asks......"is it real". Can you imagine if you walked into a party wearing a dress and someone gasps at you, says you look amazing, then asks if "is it a designer make", I would ask them back "why, do you suddenly NOT like it if its from Primark"
These sales people do try to push us into purchases for the rarity or exclusivity of something, but I always say you should buy what you like to look at, whether it is from a kinder egg, or Tiffany