What is a Tsavorite and is it better than an Emerald?

When it comes to coloured gemstones, the top 3 most popular gemstones are Sapphires, Rubies and Emeralds. Each of these gemstones are beautiful in their own right but we believe that there is another green gemstone that can compete with the beauty of Emeralds and that is the Tsavorite.

What is a Tsavorite?

A Tsavorite is a variety of green garnet. It has a beautiful intense green colour thanks to the presence of Vanadium and in some cases, Chromium. Tsavorite was actually only discovered in Tanzania back in 1967. That is rather recent considering how long people have been hunting for gemstones. It was discovered by British geologist Campbell R. Bridges in the mountains of north-east Tanzania but it was Harry Platt of Tiffany & Co. who gave Tsavorite its name, naming it after Kenya’s Tsavo National Park.

Tsavorites display a range of colours and the value of Tsavorites are strongly influenced by the tone and saturation of the gemstone. Tsavorites can be found to range in colour from bluish-green to yellowish-green with the most desirable and valuable colours being somewhere in the middle of that range.

Brilliance with a fiery glow

Tsavorites have a high refractive index and a high dispersion, especially in comparison to Emeralds. There’s a lot of science behind what that means but the result is that Tsavorites reflect light better and have double the light dispersion as compared to emeralds. Thus, they have beautiful clarity and give off a level of brilliance and fiery glow that makes them very appealing to look at.

Emeralds, by contrast, are also commonly found with inclusions which may make them appear cloudy.

How rare, you say?

While Emeralds can be found in many parts of the world, Tsavorites have been found exclusively in only East Africa, specifically in Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar. This is why it is actually much rarer than Emeralds, 200 times rarer!

Natural beauty that can’t be artificially replicated

Another feature of Tsavorites that make it extra unique is that it has a complex chemical structure and elements of its physical properties make it very difficult for it to be artificially created. Unlike emeralds where there are processes to produce man-made emeralds. Additionally, while Emeralds are commonly enhanced with oil treatments with cedarwood oil and sometimes even coloured dyes, there are no known treatments or enhancements that are done to Tsavorites. The only “enhancement” is the quality and type of cut given to the stone.

Hard & Tough

Tsavorites are a considerably hard gemstone with a ranking of 7-7.5 on the Mohs scale for hardness. For reference, a diamond, which is the hardest gemstone in the world, has a rank of 10. While Tsavorites fall just below Emeralds which rank at 7.8-8, it is still an ideal gemstone for jewellery. In a way, Tsavorites are tougher than emeralds as emeralds have a natural tendency to contain more inclusions and fractures that make it less stable and durable.

Is it Fool’s Gold?

For years, Emeralds have been the gemstone to have if you were looking for a valuable gemstone with a predominantly greenish hue. As more people learn about Tsavorites their popularity will undoubtedly rise over time. Also considering the fact that Tsavorites are notoriously hard to mine and are found exclusively in East Africa, it makes it all the more valuable as they are harder to come by.

Emeralds currently command a higher price because of its reputation. We believe that the Tsavorite will soon be the gemstone of choice for the discerning woman. There is no disputing the gemstone’s beauty and the fact that it is much harder to find makes it all the more special and meaningful.