My great grandfather in 1967 was approached by a mining group in the city of Arusha on the edge of the Kilimanjaro mountains in Tanzania where he was purchasing gems for his business. They offered him some gemstones for his business. After reviewing the parcel of crystals he noticed an unusual coloration in one of the crystals and believed it was a different gem than the group. He brought that crystal to the United States and had it tested at a gemology laboratory and discovered that this was a new gem that has never been seen before. He named it Tanjeloffite. After a few years, the stone was renamed Tanzanite that we know today for commercial use in the jewelry market. The first Tanzanite crystal is the heirloom. That still is with us today. This first crystal of tanzanite is famous in the industry and has been photographed and placed on the cover of many industry magazines and books like mineral digest. A Tanzanite is a purple-blue verity of the mineral zoisite and belongs to the epidote group. It's also a trichroism which means it shows three different colors on different axises. We have had it on display at home in our curio cabinet in our home for many years. One day I hope to do the same when I grow up and pass it to my children. 

– NT

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant