Description
Zoisite is a mineral that was first found in Austria and then named after the Slovenian noble man Sigmund Zois, Freiherr von Edelstein. However, its real popularity only came when the blue variety, later to be named tanzanite, was found in Tanzania in the 1960ies. In this talk we will not only focus on the blue variety of zoisite but also discuss other colors, such as green, pink, yellow, or orange, their trace element composition and how it influences the color.
Dr. Clemens Schwarzinger is associate Professor for chemistry at the Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. In 2016 he founded the Center for Scientific Gemmology at the University Linz and is scientific advisor of the Viennese Diamond Bourse. He is owner of a small company which is dedicated to precision gemstone cutting and developing novel cutting designs. In 2017 he won the US Faceters Guild Single Stone competition in the Master category, in 2018 and 2019 he was certified as Grand Master. In 2021 he was winner of the Gem A Photo Competition.
