Tanzanite

Tanzanite, a violet-blue gem from East Africa, is so hot, it is the first gem to be added to the birthstone list since 1912!
"...Among the important gems discovered in the last 90 years, only one has been added to the official birthstone list: Tanzanite, a violetish-blue gem that often resembles fine sapphire. Tanzanite has been adopted as a December birthstone by the American Gem Trade Association and shares its last-month-of-the-year membership with turquoise and zircon....Discovered in Tanzania in the mid-1960s, tanzanite is mined only in the large hilltop area where it was first found. To honor its single-source availability, Tiffany & Co., which introduced tanzanite to the world in 1968, named it after its East African birthplace....Depending on whether it is cut to emphasize its blue or violet color component, tanzanite can resemble the finest royal-blue sapphire or hint at amethyst. Such color versatility has endeared this member of the zoisite family to leading jewelry designers in America, Europe and Japan...Amending the birthstone list is like amending the Constitution. There's got to be compelling reason and wide support. The last time the birthstone list was revised was 1912, when jewelry industry leaders met to give gems discovered since the formulation of the traditional list a shot at birthstone status" (American Gem Trade Association)