Cloudy Tanzinite

[brantlyj]

This last weekend we were in the jewlery store were we had bought the ring. They asked if we wanted it cleaned so we did so. When my Wife got it back she said the tanzinite was cloudy. I havn''t had a chance to look at it myself.

I''m guessing he put it in the ultrasonic cleaner..... We''ve never had a problem before. Could the cleaner have done that? Or maybe it just didn''t get cleaned very well???

 

[D&T]

did you notice this before it was cleaned? its recommended that tanzanite should be limited to using mild soap any water and to avoid the use of ultrasonic machine. Some say it could be due to poorly cut or poorly heat treatment that causes some cloudiness or induces inclusions. But if I'm wrong please correct me. But I love tanzanite nonetheless. they are very beautiful colored stones even the ones that are not as desireable in colors.

 

[T L]

You shouldn''t put a tanzanite in an ultrasonic cleaner, it can shatter. I wish jewelers would understand the issues with these machines. I have a highly included stone I''m getting set this week, and I have to tell them to spefically NOT put it in the US cleaner when it''s done. This drives me batty. Included stones, soft stones, fracture filled stones, should not be put in these machines IMO.

 

[chrono]

Many tanzanites contain liquid filled inclusions that may not be visible to the naked eye in addtion to being a delicate stone. Thus, ultrasonics and steam cleaning are not recommended as the heat can cause thermal shock and the the vibrations can fracture the stone. Although damage due to ultrasonic cleaning is rare, it is not unheard of. I would just use an ammonia free jewellery cleanser, baby toothbrush and rinse off with a pat dry.

Since the jewellery store performed the cleaning and the cloudiness appeared after that, I would bring it back to have them loupe the tanzanite for damage. Many jewellery stores don't really understand gemstones (only diamonds) and hence, treat them the same way, which can damage the coloured gemstone.

 

[brantlyj]

I don''t know if it was cloudy before or not. She probably dosn''t know either.... we were looking at other stuff and just handed it to him.... and of course she looked at it after she got it back and then noticed.... but the ring is only 6 months old. My Wife is very careful with it and always takes it off when she gets home. This store is the only store that has ever done cleanings on it...

what is it about ultrasonic cleaners? is it the solution? is it the vibrating around??? I think I remember talking to someone a long time agao that claimed the cleaners were fine because they suspend the pieces so they are not vibrating around to get scratched...

I guess I''ll have to take a closer look at it tonight....

 

[chrono]

The ultrasonic vibration "shakes" the liquid filled inclusions around in the cavity, making it damage the tanzanite from the inside out, cracking/fracturing it, which if the lines are fine, will give you a cloudy appearance.

 

[T L]

I never take my jewelry to be cleaned at a jewelry store because they are so naive when it comes to colored gems. If you keep your jewelry clean on a regular basis, there is no need to have a professional cleaning done. As far as tanzantie is concerned, it's a very brittle and soft stone and can even be scratched by fine particles of dust. I would just clean it in a solution of soapy water with a very soft tooth brush, rinse, and let it air dry.

 

[LD]

I managed to ruin my very first Tanzanite many years ago by water damage. The Tanzanite went cloudy exactly as you''re describing but I wore it day and night for several months and it went into the shower with me on many occasions (thinking I was doing it a favour by cleaning it that way)!!!!! Obviously I never do that with anything now but it was an expensive lesson to learn!

If you ever get water near a Tanzanite you will see that it does cloud over but if you get the water off quickly, it should revert back to it''s transparancy UNLESS the water has impregnated the stone. An ultrasonic should NEVER be used with a Tanzanite. Tanzanite are particularly brittle and prone to thermal shock.

Try cleaning the stone with a very soft cloth (a lint free one if possible). If that doesn''t work then I''m afraid it may be water damage.

 

[chrono]

LD,
I''ve never heard of such water damage. Is it the heat from your shower? I don''t expect that the temperature of your shower to be so high as to cause thermal shock.

 

[LD]

Date: 6/30/2009 2:38:02 PM
Author: Chrono
LD,
I''ve never heard of such water damage. Is it the heat from your shower? I don''t expect that the temperature of your shower to be so high as to cause thermal shock.

I took it to a friend who''s a gemologist and she said that she suspected that the Tanzanite may have fractured (either because of my mis-use or just an inherent inclusion with the stone) and water had seeped in and done the damage that way. Now I have to be honest and say this was 10 years ago and I can''t recall the conversation accurately now so I could be mistaken but it was enough to make me treat my Tanzanite with respect from then on.

 

[chrono]

So sorry about your Tanzy.

Is it possible to remove the water and fill in the cavity with resin and oil?

 

[LD]

Date: 6/30/2009 2:51:35 PM
Author: Chrono
So sorry about your Tanzy.

Is it possible to remove the water and fill in the cavity with resin and oil?

No I don''t think so. I''m afraid there was no hope and it was consigned to the big jewellery store in the sky!

 

[T L]

LD,
That''s awful!! So sorry to hear about your experience. Well based on that, I take back my comments about using soapy water to clean them.

 

[LD]

TL actually room temperature water (used very very sparingly) applied with a soft toothbrush IS the way to clean Tanzanite but you need to dry them fairly quickly. I''m a bit paranoid and on Monday was wearing one, forget and washed up a cup! Cue deep panic and gemstone checking!!! Luckily all was ok but ...............

 

[Barrett]

Just want to make sure...your title post says tanzinite and not tanzanite..there is a stone out there with the Trade name tanzinite which is a syn. or a dyed blue gem made out of zincite crystals. I think zincite comes from poland or is made in smelters or something..just want to make sure you didn''t buy a tanzinite but a tanzanite...