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This is an absolutely stunning tanzanite with superb color.  It has been in my posession for only a couple of hours; I just returned from the stone market with it this evening.  The hue is utterly fabulous and is very, very much like the finest cornflower blue Ceylon sapphires.  This is one tanzanite that absolutely will NOT be mistaken for an amethyst!!!!!  It is a perfect medium tone and the brilliance is outstanding.  This is a drop-dead gorgeous tanzanite that you will be thrilled with and very proud to own.

http://s13.postimage.org/941v1yd2f/DSCN8580.jpg

Hailing from the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro on the border of Kenya and Tanzania, Tanzanite is one of only very few stones that have a single source country.  It is also one of the newest gemstones to be discovered, and certainly the most popular gemstone to be discovered in the last 100 years.  All tanzanite mines are in the Merelani hills region.   

http://s7.postimage.org/ba4h8lrtn/DSCN8585.jpg

A slightly violetish blue hue as this stone has is considered the most valuable hue for tanzanite.  Very few tanzanites in the market have such outstanding brilliance and such intense color as this gemstone.  How rare is tanzanite?  Gemologists estimate that it is about 1,000 times rarer than diamond.

http://s7.postimage.org/ba4h8lrtn/DSCN8585.jpg

I offer an unequivocal guarantee that this stone has only been heated.  Unlike so many of the tanzanites currently on the market this stone has NO SURFACE TREATMENT.  This color is the result of heat and only heat.  This is a natural gemstone that was mined in Tanzania, heated in a furnace, cut and polished.  The first civilization to heat gemstones was the ancient Egyptians who discovered that they could turn amethyst into citrine by laying them in the glowing embers of a fire.  This is a permanent, time-tested, and widely accepted treatment.  Before tanzanite is heated, it is green! 
http://s17.postimage.org/ymyc98xcv/DSCN8590.jpg

This tanzanite weighs 1.00 carats and measures 7.83 x 5.96 x 4.19mm deep.  The clarity is SI.

My wife and I hand-pick every single stone that we sell. Because we live in Bangkok, we have access to the largest wholesale colored gemstone markets in the world. We want to be your colored stone supplier and once you have experienced our quality and service we think you will be back!

As a GIA Graduate Gemologist, I understand my obligation to disclose treatments and to describe all gemstones accurately so you can make an informed buying decision. Feel free to contact me anytime at dave@tiptopgem.com and I would be happy to answer any questions that you have about any gemstone.

All gemstones are shipped registered air mail and you will receive a tracking number from me once it has been shipped.

Your satisfaction is 100% guaranteed.

This auction starts at 1 BITCOIN and the bid increment is 1 bitcoin.  Your bid includes the price of shipping!  This is a NO RESERVE AUCTION.

Best of luck to you all!

Correction--- this stone weighs 1.10cts, NOT 1.00!  Sorry about that. 

I'll start.

Ean is in the lead with one bitcoin.  Welcome Ean.  You do understand that gemstones are addictive, right? 

2

Wow.  Ean is pushed aside like last week's date.  Ouch.  Terry Tibbs is in the lead with 2 bitcoins. 

I'm in for 3

Beautiful stone Dave !

Binox is in the lead for 3!  And thank you Turbor.  :)

4

[Hmmm edit not possible anymore..]

I googled SI and got a lot of ... "Avoid the "SI" Clarity Trick"

SI doesn't exist ? Only SI1/2/3 ?

Just asking.

That is a really good question Server.  Actually colored gemstones are not graded the same way as diamonds.  Diamonds go like this, from best to worst:

Flawless

Internally flawless

VVS1

VVS2

VS1

VS2

SI1

SI2

I1

I2

I3

Now it is very funny that you mentioned SI3 in your post, because for diamonds this is a SCAM.  There is no SI3.  It is an I1 after hiring a PR agency.

Now let's look at colored gemstones, again from highest grade to lowest:

VVS

VS

SI

I

Short list, huh?  This is the standard set by the Gemological Institute and the scale that I use.  There are other schools out there that are superb, and they have different scales.  But I didn't study with those organizations so I don't know their scales in the same way that I do the GIA methodology, standards, and grades. 

I am a tough grader, and sometimes that hurts me.  If you are used to shopping on eBay, every stone is a "museum grade masterpiece" and is "flawless".  Well, no- sorry.  I have been told more than once that my SI compares to others' VVS.  That does not mean I am too hard- that means they are too easy.  Most people have not spent the money and time that it takes to do the GIA lab classes and don't have the experience of a GIA instructor grading their work.  GIA is very particular when it comes to grading and that is how they teach their gemology students. 

Unlike most all of the trades people who advertise that they are "GIA trained" or "GIA certified" (there is no such thing- GIA does not certify people), I am actually a Graduate Gemologist.  If someone tells you they are a gemologist you owe it to yourself to verify what they say because you are placing a lot of trust in their education.  Click on "student records and transcripts" to see if your gemologist REALLY has the credentials that they claim:

http://www.gia.edu/nav/toolbar/contact-us/index.html  (http://www.gia.edu/nav/toolbar/contact-us/index.html)

I didn't take the $199 weekend special- I did the full course and I make my living as a professional gemologist. 

I'm ready for the tough questions now.  Try me.  Gemology is incredibly vast in scope and nobody has all of the answers, but I am confident that I can at minimum provide answers that most impartial, professional gemologists would respect.  In some areas we are limited by the technology that is currently widely deployed at the laboratories of GIA, AIGS, GRS, Tokyo Gem Lab, and other such authorities.  But if you have a question I can steer you in the right direction.

Server if you want to withdraw your bid that is no problem.  And if not just confirm.  As of now, the leader is Server for 4BTC.

Heck.. Why not.... I'm in for 5 BTC :)

And Binox takes the lead.  5BTC to the man with the bitcoin logo paddle!

15 btc  ;D

And BigPiggy takes a very commanding lead at 15BTC.  There are gasps from the crowd.

16

Thank you Dave, for explaining the difference http://dl.dropbox.com/u/28686048/thumbsup.gif

20btc

And the BigPiggy takes the lead again.  The deafening silence of the crowded auction hall is pregnant with anticipation and awe. 

Server it's my pleasure to clarify.  Gemstones are not just my business but my passion.  I started the rock thing before kindergarten when I would pick up rocks from our driveway in Ohio and save the "best" ones for my collection.  I've always read everything I could get my hands on with regards to rocks and minerals, then later gemstones became the focus.  While I was teaching English at a university in South Korea I discovered I had both time and money concurrently- a totally new experience for me.  At that point I decided to pull out all the stops, and I spent every spare minute and spare dime to become a Graduate Gemologist.  I travelled to Chicago to do my diamond grading lab, and did all of my colored gemstone lab classes in Bangkok since that is the colored stone epicenter of the universe.  During this time I also travelled to Chanthaburi often to buy stones and sell them online. 

My wife and I lived in Chanthaburi for a couple of years and had a shophouse in the gemstone district there but later moved to Bangkok where we had developed a relationship with some of the best bench jewelers in the city.  We now spend most of our time in Bangkok when we are not in Ohio visiting my family, or in Cebu, Philippines visiting her family.

I only have one tanzanite this size, shape, and color.  If you want it, bid before it is too late!

This ends today!

Time is running out on this one!

And Bigpiggy scoops this one up for 20BTC.  Congratulations on a great win!

 ;D