New Acquisitions - Zoisite
- Photography by Ken Larsen. Gift of Bill Vance, Vance Gems, 2006.
Zoisite was discovered in the Saualpe Mountains of Carinthia, Austria in 1805. It may be green, brown, pink, yellow, gray, colorless, or blue to violet. Transparent zoisite is faceted into gemstones while opaque material is usually carved. The more opaque green material, called anyolite, is included with ruby crystals, which are not gem quality, but a nice contrast with the green matrix of the zoisite. Prior to 1967, when the blue-violet gem variety Tanzanite was discovered, the only zoisite used as an ornamental stone was the opaque pink variety from Norway called thulite. This cushion-cut pink zoisite from Tanzania is untreated and is the first transparent pink zoisite in the collection. Zoisite is found in Tanzania (tanzanite), Kenya (anyolite), Norway (thulite), Switzerland, Austria, India, Pakistan, and the USA.
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