Blue Zebra Art | Tanzanite | Gift Shop — Local services in Kilimanjaro

A quick heads up, this will be a very long review, but it’s an important story (2 stories really):

We went to the Blue Zebra studio right after climbing Mount Kilimanjaro as part of our honeymoon . Entering the store immediately after the most memorable and magical experience of our lives, we felt that buying a rare Tanzanite stone would only be appropriate to commemorate the occasion. My wife has a Masters in Geology, so she loves unique gemstones. We wound up picking a stone that wasn’t the most typical Tanzanite color (it was a bit softer and more grey) but it seemed to have real character. The woman at the store was extremely helpful and knowledgeable throughout the whole process. And it turns out that she actually mined many of the gems herself! There is a really neat framed photograph at the store with many of the miners on the job. I took a picture of the woman and my wife alongside the photo to capture the moment (attached here). After climbing Kili on our honeymoon and buying a beautiful rare stone mined at the foothills of the mountain, we were simply in heaven. But this was only the beginning…

Several months later, we went to a jeweler in New York City to set the stone as a necklace (our honeymoon was only a couple of weeks…we simply procrastinated after getting home). When we showed her the stone, she immediately expressed skepticism that it was Tanzanite. She questioned where we got it from and implied that we got scammed at a tourist shop. We were pretty confident based on our experience that it was Tanzanite, but we weren’t professionals and we already knew the jeweler (she made my wife’s engagement ring and our wedding bands). We made tentative plans for how to set the stone on a necklace, and she said she’d follow up after showing the stone to her lapidary (I had to Google this word afterwards…it’s a person who cuts, polishes, or engraves gems). A few days later, I received an e-mail from the jeweler: “Sorry to say that your stone is Iolite not Tanzanite.” My wife and I were completely devastated. Our hearts sank. We researched iolite and discovered that it was a substantially cheaper and more readily available gem than Tanzanite, and it’s found in many different countries. All of sudden, our whole honeymoon felt tainted. There was an unforgiveable blemish we could never erase. But something just didn’t sit right. The experience at the store felt so genuine and authentic. Unless we were extremely naïve, it didn’t feel like we were duped. So I asked the jeweler if the lapidary could confirm in writing the stone was iolite. Her response: “For that, we would need to submit to a lab. There is a cost. Not sure it’s worth doing that”. This was not encouraging. After reflecting further, I decided to send Blue Zebra a sternly worded e-mail, essentially demanding an explanation. I got an immediate response that absolutely blew me away. They 1) guaranteed that the stone is tanzanite and 2) offered to pay for the cost of having an independent lab survey the stone. Wow! Furthermore, the tone of the e-mail was extremely respectful, professional, and collaborative. All doubt left my mind at that instant. I instructed the jeweler the send the gem to the lab (I declined Blue Zebra’s offer to pay; the gesture was more than enough). 3 weeks later, sure enough…confirmed Tanzanite!! My wife and I were truly ecstatic and overcome with joy. Needless to say, we will never do business with that jeweler ever again.

If we didn’t have such a positive experience when buying the gem, we likely would’ve taken the jeweler’s initial words at face value and believed the stone was iolite for the rest of our lives. The same would be true if Blue Zebra’s e-mail response wasn’t so constructive.

I believe this is a story that needs to be told. It reflects the highest level of service and care not just for Blue Zebra, but for Tanzania as a country and its people. Our honeymoon was simply the best time of our lives. And this is entirely thanks to the people we met during the journey – their warmth, their compassion,...

TLDR: the tanzanite here is over-graded and overpriced, without trustworthy certificates, if you want high quality stones, go to places like Tanzanite Experiences instead.

Their selection of souvenirs are good but please DO NOT purchase tanzanite here. and this review is specific to my Tanzanite purchase experience here.

The most severe issue is the FALSE rating of stones I purchased. In the given certificates, the stones are certified/rated as vBE+ color, which is supposed to be "Exceptional +" color and very rare. And later at Tanzanite Experience store, I was able to compare the stones I purchased from this store with real vBE+ stones side by side, and there is eye visible color difference between the stones, and Tanzanite Experience specialist checked my stones and confirmed that both stones, according to their rating system, would be likely just vBv (Vivid) color, at least one level below vBE+. This vBE+ rating was verbally used by the salesperson from the store while showing me the stones and this rating was also written on the certificates.

The certificates themselves are not reliable and misleading info was given by salesperson to help the sales. Before I purchased the tanzanites, I asked whether these stones have certificates, and were told all of them are certified and certificates could be provided. Yet only when I was trying to pay, I found out the sales person just pulled blank certificates out and hand-written the "certificate" at the time of purchase. In contrast, at Tanzanite Experience, each stone is pre-certified and comes with a unique certificate of its own, which is usually the case of all Certificates. The grading system used by Blue Zebra and the hand-written certificate paved a convenient way for the FALSE ratings.

Stones are overpriced considering their true ratings. A real vBE+ color stone of 13Ct at Tanzanite Experience is asked at $13,000, versus the MSRP of a similar weight vBv stone at Blue Zebra is asked at $15,800. From the specialist's estimate, the stone I purchased at Blue Zebra could be about half its MSRP for what it really worth.

Most importantly, if I weren't given the False rating and other misleading info during the sales, I would have chosen to purchase a real rating vBE+ color stone instead of the ones I got from this store. The vBv stones I got here are still good stones, but not at the quality I was aiming to purchase and invest in, which ends up as a great...

Walking into the Blue Zebra gallery in Moshi, Tanzania is an immediate adventure. This gallery seems to have it all. The staff is friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable without any high-pressure sales pitches. There is a wide variety of excellent quality, carvings, jewelry, clothing, T-shirts, coffee, and tea. there are paintings and fabric tastefully displayed throughout the area. Small gift items are readily accessible in larger bins in the center of the store. Worldwide shipping is also available for larger items that just don’t fit into your luggage. The Blue Zebra is a licensed Tanzanite dealer. There is a wide variety of loose stones of different grades and jewelry design to enhance the beauty of the Tanzanite. Again, tastefully displayed however, the reason I bring my guests here is the family around the gallery and their desire to help the workers employed in the Tanzanite mines. The advocacy of this family has greatly improve the health, education and housing of those who spent their time bringing these beautiful and precious stones to the surface. Displayed in one area of the store or photos of the minors in the mines. But wait, there’s more! In the lower level of the Blue Zebra is an immense gallery, showcasing the work of local artists. There are sculptures and paintings in many different styles and mediums, and on any given day, you can find one or more of those artists at work. One of the staff accompanies you to answer your inquiries about the artist and their work. I have been traveling to Tanzania for 20 years and highly recommend visiting this unique destination. You will not be...