Tsavorite Garnet
A chromium-green garnet that stands directly beside fine emerald for color, with far better clarity and no treatment at all.
About Tsavorite Garnet
Tsavorite is grossular garnet colored by chromium and vanadium, found in a narrow geological belt along the Kenya–Tanzania border and named for Tsavo National Park. It was introduced commercially in the 1970s, which makes it a genuinely modern gemstone.
Its case against emerald is a strong one. Tsavorite is typically eye-clean where emerald is included, it is essentially never treated where emerald is nearly always oiled, and it has a higher refractive index, which gives it more brilliance. What it lacks is size — tsavorite over two carats is decidedly rare, and prices climb steeply with weight.
For accent work and small feature stones it is close to ideal: intense color, excellent durability, and no maintenance considerations at all.
Why Sharon works with tsavorite garnet
Sharon uses tsavorite where a piece needs a small point of pure green that will not go gray in low light. It is one of the stones she buys whenever good material appears, regardless of whether a design is waiting for it.
Caring for tsavorite garnet
Warm soapy water and a soft brush. Generally safe in an ultrasonic cleaner.
Common questions about tsavorite garnet
How does tsavorite compare to emerald?
Comparable color, better clarity, more brilliance, and essentially never treated. Emerald wins on size availability and historical prestige; tsavorite wins on practicality.
Why is large tsavorite so expensive?
The rough rarely produces clean stones above two carats. Price per carat rises sharply with size because the material simply does not occur that way often.
Tsavorite Garnet jewelry by Sharon Teaman
Each piece is one of a kind and made by hand in State College, Pennsylvania.
Commission a tsavorite garnet piece
Tell Sharon the color, the shape or the budget you have in mind. She sources tsavorite garnet year round and will find the right stone before a single sketch is made.