Buying Guide

The Gemstone Guide to Tsavorite Garnet

Loved for
As close as nature gets to neon, the Tsavorite is a spectacularly vibrant green that adds a powerful burst of colour to the jewellery wardrobe.

About Tsavorite Garnet
Tsavorite garnets belong to the grossular garnet group of gemstones. Grossular garnets include Hessonite, and African Jade as well as the tsavorite. They are composed from calcium aluminum silicate, and range in colour from light to dark yellow, gold, orange, scarlet, red, and green.

The name grossular is derived from the Latin word for gooseberries and refers to the similarity that the gemstone’s light-green variants have to their namesake. Grossular garnet is believed to be a potent stone for prosperity and good health, particularly tsavorite, its green colour symbolizing regeneration and hope.

The discovery of tsavorite garnets is credited to Scottish geologist Campbell Bridges. Campbell Bridges first encountered rocks that contained small green crystals in Zimbabwe in 1960 and later in northern Tanzania close to Mount Kilimanjaro in 1967.

Moving to Kenya after the nationalization of his mines in Tanzania in the 1970s, the pursuit of the tsavorite was an audacious endeavour. Campbell Bridges is said to have initially lived in a tree house to hide from wild animals and to have protected his precious gemstones from thieves with pythons.

Colour
The tsavorite garnet is one of the few gemstones that is wholly natural, without heat, radiation or oil treatments being used to enhance its colour or clarity.

Where it's found
Kenya, Madagascar, Tanzania

Moh hardness
7.5 (1 soft to 10 hard)

Birthstone
For January

Anniversaries
25th wedding anniversary