Dear Log,
When Randal was here in Ketchikan, he said to me basically: hey, ever notice you never see people selling "tanzanite" jewels except at jewellery shops by cruise ships? I mean, you never hear someone say "oh, this tanzanite brooch has been in my family for generations!" I bet it's just some kind of blue plastic they make in Taiwan.
I looked into it. The truth is very close: tanzanite is just a tint of silicate that was discovered in the 60s or so. It was discovered first in Tanzania, but was later discovered in a few other places.
Meanwhile, I like Alaskan hematite, which was shined up and given to the Czars as "black diamond", back when Alaska was part of Russia. Granted, the Czars were inbred simpletons. They liked shiny things.
Mmmm shiny things.
Bonus: since hematite is a ferrite, you can magnetize it! Hooboy!
Down side: "hematite" sounds like a blood disease.
My ex-fiancée loved tanzanite. Maybe this was my first clue.
