Tsavorite Garnet: Properties, Meanings, Value & More

Tsavorite is a variety of grossular garnet known for its gorgeous emerald-green hues and status as one of the rarest, most valuable garnet gemstones.

How rare is tsavorite? Well it only has two main sources — Kenya and Tanzania — and gemologists consider it between 200 to 1,000 times rarer than emerald.

Here at Gem Rock Auctions, we take pride in our wide selection of high-quality gemstones, including rare splendors like tsavorite. We believe buyers should always go into a sale with all the education they need, so that’s why we’ve created this complete guide to all things tsavorite — from properties and history to prices and care tips.

About Tsavorite Stone

Tsavorite is a green semi-precious gemstone in the garnet family, though it’s often compared to the precious gemstone emerald. Sometimes this garnet is called tsavolite.

Other green garnets include demantoid, uvarovite, and Mali garnet.

All of these garnets serve as January birthstones, lucky zodiac stones for Capricorn and Aquarius, and traditional 2nd wedding anniversary gemstones.

Tsavorite Specifications & Characteristics

Tsavorite is a variety of grossular garnet, which has the formula Ca3Al2(SiO4)3. Grossular garnets are in the ugrandite group alongside uvarovite and andradite.

Andradite and grossular garnet forms a series, with andradite as the iron-dominant endmember and grossular as the calcium-dominant endmember. Grossular garnet also forms a series with uvarovite, with uvarovite as the chromium endmember.

Common impurities in grossular garnets include iron, chromium, manganese, magnesium, and titanium. The most common impurities in tsavorite are chromium and vanadium, which impart the statement green color.

Other grossular garnets include hessonite, Mali garnet, and leuco garnet. Mali garnet is a mixture of grossular and andradite. Like tsavorite, it’s also green, though it can also be shades of yellow or brown.

In terms of habits, grossular garnets like tsavorite typically have dodecahedral or trapezohedral crystals, sometimes with hexoctahedral faces. The mineral can also be compact, massive, or granular.

Here’s the list of tsavorite’s properties:

• Mohs hardness: 7-7.5

• Color: Yellow-green to green; Rarely color-zoned

• Crystal structure: Isometric (cubic)

• Luster: Vitreous, sub-vitreous, or greasy

• Transparency: Translucent to transparent

• Refractive index: 1.72-1.74

• Density: 3.55-3.73

• Cleavage: None; Rarely parting on {110}

• Fracture: Conchoidal, sub-conchoidal, or irregular/uneven

• Streak: White

• Luminescence: Occasionally fluorescence – golden-yellow, yellowish-green, yellow-orange, or pink under SW-UV & golden-yellow or orangish under LW-UV; Massive material: orange in X-rays

• Pleochroism: None

• Birefringence: None; Sometimes anomalous birefringence

• Dispersion: 0.028

Tsavorite vs Similar Gemstones

Tsavorite can be confused with a few other gemstones, primarily demantoid (another type of garnet) and emerald. Let’s clear up any confusion by breaking down those differences below.