Tanzanite is relatively new on the gemstone market, but has left its mark. Its blue-lavender color is rather unique and a wonderful addition to the gemstone palette. Found in Tanzania (hence the name) in 1967, it has since become a well known and widely distributed gemstone. It has become so popular that in October of 2002 the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) announced that tanzanite had joined zircon and turquoise in the traditional list of birthstones for the month of December.  It is believed that the Masai herders in a town near the foothills of Munt Kilimanjaro (now part of Tanzania)  were the first people to discover this gemstone. According to popular myth, a lightning strike near the Merelani hills set surrounding grasslands on fire. When the Masai herders returned to the area with their livestock, magical blue stones appeared on the ground.  When a Portuguese geologist, named Manuel d' Souza, traveled to this area in Tanzania, several of the native herders took him to a place where these blue stones were on the ground.  Despite d'Souza's efforts to keep the find a secret, word spread fast.  Before long, nearly 100 claims were staked.  This exciting new gem reached the US market in 1970.  Some are now suggesting that tanzanite is getting harder and harder to find and to mine and may become extinct in the future.