Are Tanzanites a good investment?

Answer 1

Tanzanite is a blue variety of the mineral Zoisite which was first discovered in Tanzania - hence the name which was dreamed up by Tiffany for a marketing campaign. It is an attractive stone but needs to be treated with care as it is very brittle and chips easily, for this reason it is not good as a ring stone. It also can be seriously damaged by the ultrasonic cleaning machines used by jewellers. One insurance company described tanzanites as accidents waiting to happen.
As to being a good investment they have the same problems as all precious stones. Shop owners are going to hate me for this but buying from a retail outlet (do not believe any of the rubbish about "massive 50% reductions" and special offers) is never going to give you an investment of any worth. A retailer needs to mark up his goods at least 100% to even hope to survive which means he bought it for half what you are paying. The manufacturer also added his costs and profit as did the dealer from whom he bought the stones. I think you are starting to see where I am going. For your items to gain in VALUE you have got wait many years before they even come up to the price (plus inflation) you paid for them. To be a genuine investment you need to have contacts within the trade and be able to buy from as near to source as possible. You also need to know EXACTLY what you are buying - almost invisible differences in the stone can make huge differences in its value. Buying anything "unseen" such as on the net is the surest guarantee of disaster there is unless it is an insignificant piece that you can return.
You do not state the sizes or quality of stones you are thinking of buying or where they come from. If you are buying jewellery buy it because you love it and want to wear it - not because you think there might be a profit in it somewhere because most times you are going to be terribly disappointed.