Tsavorite Makes a Choice Gem for Lovers of Emerald Green Jewelry

May 3, 2010
Claire Eddins

Emerald green gemstone tsavorite garnet makes a stunning, rare jewelry stone - cltphoto

Rare, green, grossular garnet tsavorite is beautiful, durable, and cheaper than emerald of similar quality, making it great for green gemstone jewelry.

Move over, emerald, tsavorite has arrived! Throughout history, the touchstone of green gemstones has been rich, leafy green emerald. However, the finest emeralds are now exorbitantly pricey. Moreover, naturally included, slightly brittle and sometimes blemished emeralds are often treated and filled with unnatural materials to improve their eye-appeal.

Fortunately, if you are looking for a natural, untreated, rare, durable, and beautiful grass-green colored gem for jewelry, tsavorite could be your dream green gemstone.

Tsavorite Gems Offer Rich Color, Toughness and Sparkle

Like emerald, vanadium and chromium are the main colorants in tsavorite. The very finest specimens are highly saturate grass or pure spectral green, from medium to medium-dark in tone.

As in emerald, some collectors prefer a touch of blue in the vibrant green. Blue will deepen the overall hue, while yellow will lighten the gem’s color. Stones that are too yellowish are less prized. Also, gems that are overly dark or light are not the most desirable.

Although tsavorite has a Mohs hardness rating of 7, compared to the slightly harder 7.5 for emerald, tsavorite is often considered to be more durable all around, making it a very good choice for rings, earrings, pendants and other jewelry.

Moreover, tsavorite is generally a cleaner gem than emerald. Tsavorite is a Type II gemstone that may have some eye-visible inclusions that do not detract from the gem’s overall attractiveness (considered a Type III gem, emerald is typically more included). Finally, tsavorite has a higher refractive index and twice the dispersion of emerald, making the stone more bright and brilliant than many sleepy emeralds.

Coveted Inclusion-free Green Gemstones Cost Most

As with most garnets, tsavorite is a natural gemstone and is not treated. The cleanest and least included gems fetch the highest prices. Eye-visible inclusions greatly affect pricing and visibly included stones should be markedly reduced in price compared to eye-clean gems.

Because some aficionados liken the appearance of tsavorite to emerald, step- or emerald-cut tsavorite is a most desired shape. However, this cut reveals less of the gem’s potential sparkle. By comparison, to show-off a tsavorite’s marvelous brilliance, a brilliant-cut tsavorite may be preferred. Either way, the material lends itself to beautiful faceted gems which are available in several shapes, including round, oval, cushion and emerald.

Many tsavorite gems on the market are native-cut. Re-cut and custom-cut gemstones command higher prices.

Green Grossular Tsavorite Gem is Part of Garnet Family

Tsavorite is the most important subvariety of transparent green grossular garnet. Created as a marketing name, tsavorite is not a gemological name.

By definition, color for tsavorite must fall in the range between lime to pure spectral green. When grossular garnet appears as lighter, pastel green, or impure brownish or yellowish green, the stone is referred to as green grossular garnet. Light minty green grossular garnet is known as Merelani mint garnet.

A relative newcomer to gem world, tsavorite was first discovered in 1967 by renowned Scottish geologist and gem expert, Campbell Bridges, while he worked as a consultant for Tiffany & Co. at the original tanzanite source in Tanzania. Bridges went on to find the first Kenyan deposits of tsavorite in 1970. Most deposits were, and continue to be, small and irregular.

During the mid-seventies, Bridges and Tiffany’s president, Henry Platt, named the stunning green gem after Kenya’s Tsavo National Park. In 1991, another tsavorite find was made in Madagascar.

Rare Tsavorite is More Scarce Than Emerald

Fine tsavorite is one of the most rare and expensive of colored gemstones. For many, the gem has as much desirability as its coveted cousin demantoid, the rare green variety of andradite garnet.

Large tsavorite specimens are extremely rare, some say they are twice as scarce as emerald. According to Bridges (who was tragically murdered by a mob of illegal miners in Kenya in 2009, reportedly over disputed mining rights), most tsavorite – as much as 85% – yields gems just less than one carat in weight. Another 10% yields gems above 1 carat; 2.5% yields gems weighing more than 2 carats; and a mere 1% yields stones over 3 carats.

Although quality may vary greatly, lowest quality rough material may be had for a few dollars per carat. World-class gems will fetch prices of many thousands of dollars per carat. Fine material over 3 carats is considered exceptionally rare. Faceted stones exist up to 16 carats.

Tsavorite Care and Cleaning

Warm soapy water and a brush are ideal for cleaning tsavorite jewelry. Ultrasonic cleaners are usually safe. Avoid steam cleaners and abrupt, extreme temperature changes or fracture may occur.