RUBY AND ZOISITE LONGIDO TANZANIA

 

Referred to as the Fire, Love, Passion and Eternal Growth Gem, Ruby and Zoisite from Longido Tanzania is considered one of the most Colorful Ornamental Gemstones in the World. For carvings, Specimens, Cabochons, or even when cut thin, they can be made into the most colorful lamp shades. The mineralogical name of this gemstone is "Anyolite" derived from the Masai word for green Anyoli, however, most people refer to it as Ruby and Zoisite, or Ruby in Zoisite. 

 

Longido ( Kata na Mji wa Lingido in Swahili ) is the district capital of the Longido District in the Arusha Region of Tanzania , near the Kenyan Border. In 1949, near Mount Longido, English prospector Tom Blevins discovered a remarkable deposit of ruby crystals within a striking green matrix which was later determined to be the mineral zoisite. Blevins at first discovered thousands of carats of loose ruby crystals weighing up to hundreds of carats each, which he could easily collect with his bare hands.  Thousands of carats of beautiful rubies were collected this way. However, most of the rubies in this deposit were found embedded in the green zoisite matrix. Some of these ruby crystals had well-formed hexagonal shapes and could be many inches across and deep. Tom Blevins and his partner were so excited that they had thought they discovered King Solomon's long lost ruby mines! Over the years the Longido Ruby and Zoisite mines have produced some of the most remarkable gem specimens ever seen with some even weighing over several kilograms. Although small samples of ruby and zoisite have been found in other locations in the world, nowhere but Longido is such material found in such beautiful and breathtaking pieces, making ruby and zoisite one of the most coveted gems in the world.