The Zoisite Butterfly highlights the many different colors of unheated, untreated zoisite. Here you see shades of pinks, greens, yellows and blues.The blue or a bluish-purple variety of zoisite is known as tanzanite, and the color is usually achieved by heat treatment. However, this butterfly features natural unheated zoisites. The head of this butterfly has a 5.20 carat blue tanzanite, the middle tanzanite gem is 7.07 carats, and the pink pear-shaped tail is 4.33 carats. The upper left wing has a 0.95 carat pink, a 0.85 carat peach, and a 1.84 carat yellow. The lower left wing has a 1.88 carat green. The upper right wing has a 0.72 green with a 0.90 carat tanzanite, and a 2.22 carat yellow. The lower right wing has a 1.65 carat yellow. The eyes have 1.0 carat of green zoisites. The butterfly is accented with 3.16 carats of diamonds. The 18k yellow gold Zoisite Butterfly is part of a collection of 18 jeweled butterfly brooches created and designed by Elvis "Buzz" Gray and Bernadine Johnston. The butterflies were gifted to the Naitonal Gem Collection by the Smithsonian Gem and Mineral Collectors.
