How a beloved 13.34-carat tourmaline went from a private treasure to the Smithsonian
WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday morning, September 16th, 2025, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Gem & Mineral Collection unveiled their latest donation: a BVLGARI 18-karat white and yellow gold and diamond ring featuring the “ZaZa Azul,” an intense “Windex-blue” 13.34-carat Brazilian Paraíba tourmaline.
The gift from Sandi “ZaZa” Kolitz and her husband, Bob, now joins the Gem & Mineral Hall alongside icons such as the 138-carat Rosser Reeves Star Ruby, the 75-carat Hooker Emerald, and the 423-carat Logan Sapphire. Dr. Gabriela Farfan, the museum’s Coralyn Whitney Curator of Gems and Minerals, called it “one of the most spectacular examples of Paraíba tourmaline” the Smithsonian has ever displayed.
“Most people know diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies,” Farfan told the unveiling crowd. “But they do not know tourmaline—especially Paraíba of this quality. Paraíba tourmaline is different. It glows.” She added with a smile: “This piece has been on our wish list for years, and today we get to share it with the world.”
What’s in a Name: “ZaZa” + “Azul”
The name came from family first. When Sandi’s daughter was pregnant with her first child, Sandi compiled a list of twenty names her future grandchild might call her. Her daughter chose “ZaZa”—and it stuck. “From the moment Millie was born, I would say, ‘Millie, ZaZa loves you,’” Sandi recalled. “Now the whole family calls me ZaZa.”
Years later, while discussing the stone with her close friend Christine Webb, the museum’s Contractor for Gems, the idea clicked. “Sandi, it should be ZaZa,” Webb insisted. “ZaZa Azul sounds better than Kolitz Paraíba.” Azul, Portuguese for blue, completed the name. “Bob loves that it telegraphs the story,” Sandi laughed. “It was my stone. I love it. Now everyone gets to.”
The Find, the Gasp, the Setting
The Kolitzes first encountered the stone in San Antonio. Hans-Jürgen Henn, third-generation master craftsman at Henn Gems in Idar-Oberstein, Germany had come to show Bob a cat’s-eye alexandrite. After closing that deal, Henn reached into his pocket for “one more stone.”
“Neither Bob nor I had ever experienced a gasp like that,” Sandi said. “We didn’t know what we’d do with it—only that we couldn’t let it go.”
Years passed before inspiration struck: a BVLGARI advertising campaign featuring a golden sapphire in the bold Trombino setting. “The cut of the sapphire was nearly identical to the Paraíba,” Sandi remembered. “I kept thinking: that’s the setting.”
So, while Sandi and Bob were in Europe the following year, they took a side trip to Rome. They waltzed into BVLGARI’s flagship, Sandi unwrapped the stone, and asked to have it set just like the golden sapphire on display. The sales associate refused: “We do not set semi-precious stones.”
Sandi pressed: “May I see your manager?”
Down the stairs came Paolo Bvlgari.
“Paulo opened the paper, looked at the Paraíba, looked at me, and I said, ‘Right. It’s a Paraíba.’ I really think it will look beautiful in that ring,” pointing to the golden sapphire in the Trombino mount.
He examined the gem, listened, and said: “You know, we never repeat a setting. We never repeat… but I agree with you. It would be beautiful. We would love to do this for you.”
That exception became reality. BVLGARI faxed design updates to San Antonio, and even sent a representative from Rome to personally deliver the finished ring. “It was a WOW,” Sandi said.
Too Beautiful, Too Valuable
Photo by James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution
For years, Sandi wore the ring getting compliments wherever she went. But the reactions were telling. “Everywhere I went, people said it was the most beautiful aquamarine they’d ever seen,” she laughed. “I didn’t always correct them. Most people had never heard of Paraíba tourmaline.”
Amongst dealers, however, there was no confusion. “In Tucson, they would chase me down the aisles to see it,” Sandi said. “‘Do you know how much that’s worth?’ they warned. And of course I did.”
As the gem’s fame and value grew, the ring left casual wear for the bank vault. “Our kids love it, but wouldn’t wear it,” Sandi admitted. “They couldn’t even afford to insure it. We had planned to will it to the Smithsonian—but then we thought: why wait?”
The Grand Unveiling
The turning point came during a SGC (Smithsonian Gem and Mineral Collectors Group) trip to Iceland. Sandi decided she wanted Jeffrey Post, then still Curator-in-Charge of Gems and Minerals, to be part of the moment before his retirement.
“One evening I just sat down with Jeff and said, ‘Bob and I want to give the Smithsonian the Paraíba,’” she recalled. “He was stunned. I told him, ‘you’ve been such a huge part of our time on the SGC, and we want you here for this.’”
That promise was fulfilled this September when ZaZa Azul took its place in the National Gem & Mineral Collection.
and photos by Gary Roskin
Hans-Jürgen Henn: From Teófilo Otoni to Washington, D.C.
As noted above, Jürgen Henn is a third-generation master gem artist located in Idar-Oberstein, the colored gemstone cutting capital of the world. For Henn, who sold the Kolitzes their stone, the Smithsonian’s unveiling brought the story full circle. “It’s one of the top stones we ever cut,” he said. “Fantastic that it ends up in the museum!”
Henn was among the very first to recognize Paraíba’s potential. In the late 1980s, while searching Brazil for alexandrite, a broker in Teófilo Otoni handed him a palmful of vivid blue tourmaline rough—priced at $400 per gram. “In those days, the best tourmaline rough anywhere in the world was $100 a gram,” Henn recalled. At first, he didn’t buy it. But he kept thinking about it. “I couldn’t sleep. My family would think I was crazy. But I bought it anyway.”
The gamble paid off. “Whoever saw it, bought one. My Japanese clients especially. Then we put one ‘not-so-pretty’ stone in the oven, just a hundred degrees… and WOW, electric blue came out! That was the beginning of the fever.” Prices doubled every three months as the market caught on.
Henn remembers trying to buy stones back from clients at double their purchase price. “Everyone in the West refused. They thought: if Jürgen wants it back, something must be happening. But some did sell—and they made 100 percent profit. And I doubled it again.”
From that first handful, he sold the Smithsonian their first Paraíba: a 6.5-carat unheated pear shape. “I sold it for 6,500 Deutschmarks,” he said. “Today, it would be worth half a million!”
Against that backdrop, the Kolitz gem stood out. “We cut many pieces, but not one like this,” Henn stressed. “The size, the clarity—I had only one.” At 13.34 carats, ZaZa Azul sits in the top tier: stones above 20 carats are virtually mythical, with perhaps only five to ten known from the original Brazilian discoveries, recalled Henn.
In the Showcase
Even before the public announcement, the ring was already doing what great museum pieces do—stopping visitors in their tracks. “You’ll notice right away that it’s a brilliant neon color we all call ‘Windex Blue,’” said Farfan. “The ZaZa Azul will stand out instantly.”
As the veil was lifted, the gallery gasped. What began as a private gasp in San Antonio decades ago was now a public one in Washington, D.C.—a neon blue glow, preserved for generations to enjoy. – gr
Special thanks to Sandi & Bob Kolitz, Axel and Jürgen Henn, Gabriela Farfan, Russell Feather, and Martin Fuller.
by James Di Loreto, Smithsonian Institution! Thanks Jim!
