Gem Profile 12: Tsavorite Garnet     
View past Profiles...  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11    13  14  15 16 17  18  19  20  21  22  23  24  25  26

        Tsavorite, the lively verdant-green grossular garnet found so far only in Africa, has long been considered too small to make it big time.  But now its reputation for being tough is giving it a change for glory.  Ironically abundance of this garnet in small sizes has boomed large in the gem’s newfound favor. 
        
                There recent renewed popularity of invisible settings created a need for a green gem to act as a complement to diamond, ruby, and sapphire.  Ordinarily emerald would have been first choice.  But its brittleness ruled such usage out.  So manufactures had to find an alternative. 
        
            Enter tsavorite, who’s plentitude in the bite sizes suited for the princess cuts used in invisible setting made it an instant candidate for the role of emerald substitute.  But it had to have brawn to match its bounty.  Invisible setting requires that gems be mounted in tongue-in-groove manner that often chips less than sturdy stones.  Although both tsavortie and emerald are rated 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, tsavorite boasts greater durability.  Which is essential for surviving the process of invisible setting.
        
            Once princess-cut tsavorite proved itself the equal of ruby and sapphire for invisible setting, designers began using it in jewelry featuring fashionable baguette and trillion cuts.  Tsavortie’s high refractive index and dispersion (1.74 and 0.028) are important pluses.  “When tsavorite is combined with diamond in a necklace or bracelet you get a more homogeneous brilliance than with emerald,” says Campbell Bridges, the man who discovered tsavorite in that late 1967’s.  

            Nevertheless, because of its rather recent discovery and relative rarity, tsavorite has a long road to go before it can be considered a mainstream gem comparable to emerald, or for that matter, peridot.  It is in the race for wider use in jewelry design yet still runs only as a substitute for emerald. 
          
            “Large” for tsavorite is fairly small compared to other gems.  Although some spectacular tsavorites larger than 10 carats have been reported, the stones are rarely bigger than 3 carats.  Nevertheless, greater availability of 1 to 3 carat stones would lower prices and set the stage for this gem to attain wider popularity.  Prices drop as stones veer towards stronger yellow and darker green or have more inclusions.

Return to Homepage