Gem Profile- Tsavorite and Green Garnets

by Judy Ellis

To continue our discussion on Garnet this week, we'll take a look at the green garnets. Editor's note: while green garnets are beautiful, they are extremely hard to come by... so we are pleased to feature even more red garnet wire jewelry made by talented readers like you in this Garnet article!

Green is a color for a Garnet? Well, yes it is! Uvarovite, Grossularite, and Andradite garnets range in color from a light yellow-green to an intense green - nearly the same color as the finest Emerald.

The color range of grossular garnet, from champagne to a vivid green. (via Wikipedia)

Tsavorite
Tsavorite is a deep green stone discovered in 1967 by Campbell R. Bridges, a British geologist. While camping in the mountains of northeastern Tanzania, he found curious nodules of rock. Breaking them open revealed beautiful green crystals of the grossular group, though they were initially too small to facet.

Bridges continued searching for gem-quality stones in Kenya. He even lived in a tree hut to protect himself from animals and was eventually successful in finding larger stones suitable for faceting.

Since the first stones were found near the Tsavo Preserve in Tanzania, Tiffany & Co. president Henry Platt named them Tsavorite. So far, the gem has only been found in Madagascar and Kenya.

Tsavorite has a refractive index of 1.74, giving it remarkable fire, reportedly visible even through cloth. Most stones are less than 1 carat, with 2-3 carat stones being rare. Exceptionally large stones exist, such as a 325-carat gem found in 2006.

Marcia Kertel created these chignon hair pins with bronze wire, accenting with rose quartz and red garnet beads.

Demantoid Garnets

Another type of green garnet is the Demantoid Garnet, my personal favorite. Demantoid doesn't refer to a condition, but rather it means it's an andradite garnet that ranges in color from yellow green to deep emerald green. It has amazing luminosity with a 0.057 dispersion and 1.80-1.89 refractive index making the "fire" of the Demantoid greater than that of a diamond.

Jane Duke wire created this 14kt gold-filled bracelet with garnets and freshwater pearls.

Demantoid garnet, also called "Ural Pearls," were discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia in 1868 and soon graced workshops in St. Petersburg - most notably, that of Carl Faberge. Faberge, who created the famous Faberge eggs, loved the demantoid for its brilliance. Only occasionally seen on the market after World War I, the demantoid made a rather dramatic return in the 1996 when more of the material was found in the Spitzkoppe range of Namibia.

Jane Duke created this lovely heart with sterling silver and ruby and garnet beads.

A Namibian goatherd was just wandering around, minding his own business, when he stubbed his toe on the gem. (I don't know about the toe part, but he did find the stones in the dirt and thought they should be looked at by the village elders...what a great story!)

Batya Morris created this garnet jewelry set with garnet beads and sterling silver wire.

So what differentiates the Demantoids found in Russia versus the ones in Namibia? Well, they are equal in brilliance, color and fire, but differ in one minor detail: the horsetail inclusions.

Generally, fewer inclusions in gemstones increase their value. This does not apply to the humble Demantoid.

The inclusions in Demantoid are called "horsetail" because they appear as golden-brown threads radiating from the center, resembling a horse's tail. These inclusions are chrysotile, a form of asbestos.

Horsetail inclusions are only found in Demantoid garnets from the Ural Mountains. This makes these stones rare and more valuable than equally beautiful, inclusion-free stones from Namibia.

Brenda Sigafoos created this wire and garnet piece with matching red wire.

Uvarovite

Last but not least is Uvarovite, one of the rarest garnets. It was discovered by Germain Henri Hess in 1832 and named for Count Sergei Semenovitch Uvarov.

The small crystals form a druze in marble and schist deposits in the Ural Mountains and the Outokumpu range in Finland. Uvarovite has also been found in Quebec, Canada, Norway, and South Africa.

The bright green color of Uvarovite comes from chromium in its structure.

Uvarovite is the only garnet with a consistent green color!

This Garnet and freshwater pearl necklace is also made with 14kt gold-filled wire by Jane Duke.

Green Garnet Metaphysical Properties

Tsavorite is said to bring strength during difficult or new phases of life. It is a stone of wealth and positive feeling helping the wearer in financial, creative, and physical health.

Demantoids are said to reduce loneliness, increase love and help remove emotional obstacles. They help promote growth in relationships and decrease the feelings of emotional inequality. Green Andradite is the color of the earth giving the wearer a sense of awakening, helping one to persevere and is an excellent talisman of power.

Uvarovite is a calming stone that is said to strengthen the heart and other organs as well as bringing a sense of self-worth, especially to heal negative emotions caused by a feeling of scarcity.

Resources & Recommended Reading

Green Crystals Meanings - Crystal Vaults: www.crystalvaults.com

Garnet on Minerals.net

Garnet on Wikipedia

Tsavorite on Wikipedia

Uvarovite on Wikipedia

Demantoid on Wikipedia

International Colored Gemstone Association - Demantoid Garnet and Tsavrite Garnet: www.gemstone.org

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