2. About Education Center Gemstone List Garnet: Karo Tsavorite

Garnet: Karo Tsavorite

Named "the king of garnets," tsavorite comes in an amazing green, ranging from fresh spring-green to deep forest-green. It is one of the world's most superb and beloved gemstones with limited availability.

Henry Platt of Tiffany & Co. jewelers launched tsavorite in the United States. He christened the gem after Tsavo National Park in Kenya. Its gorgeous green shades can be a crisp green, vivid bluish-green or intense forest-green. Green tsavorite is a calcium-aluminum mineral and part of the grossularite branch of the garnet group. Tsavorite gains color from traces of chromium and vanadium oxide in the stone. What you see is what you get with tsavorite; no heat, oil or other form of treatment is needed to achieve this brilliant emerald green. Two decades after its discovery, tsavorite is considered one of the world's most gorgeous, prized and sought after gems. Similar to demantoid garnet, there is a shortage of tsavorite garnet, and, therefore; it is hard to find. Its availability is not certain in the near future.

GemLORE
  • Tsavorite garnet is considered a stone of prosperity and may help decrease anxiety about financial issues.
  • A natural stress reliever, this gem is thought to bring happiness and help determine one's true life path or destiny and gain fulfillment.
  • Crystal healers use tsavorite to speed healing and cell growth. It is also used to address heart disorders.
  • The garnet family has a long history that dates back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome. In the Bible, Noah used a lamp from garnet to guide his Ark through the darkness of night. The garnet was a symbol of one of the first 12 tribes of Israel.
  • Ancient explorers and travelers wore garnets as an amulet to inspire success in commerce and ensure safe journeys.
  • Tribes in Asia and the American Southwest used to make bullets from garnets, thinking that they caused greater wounds that took longer to heal and cut through the skin better. These bullets were used up until the 19th Century.
  • In medieval times, people used garnets to ease depression, ward off bad dreams and alleviate ailments of the liver. Garnet was also believed to soothe arthritis.
  • Garnet symbolizes purity, truth, love and compassion.
GemGPS

LOCATION: Tanzania

Campbell R. Bridges, a renowned Scottish geologist, first discovered tsavorite in Tanzania in 1967. Bridges later found a second deposit in the Tsavo region of Kenya in 1971. Tanzania and Kenya remain the two main mining sites for this gem. Four mining operations supply the global market. We obtain tsavorite from Block D of the Karo Mine, located in the Arusha region of Tanzania. This mine is also home to our tanzanite supply.

GemFACTS
  • Ranks 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale.
  • Colors present crisp green, vivid bluish-green or intense forest-green.
  • Sourced from Karo Mine in Tanzania.
  • Member of the grossular garnet family.
  • Also known as tsavolite or tsavolith.
  • Birthstone for January and the Zodiac sign of Aquarius.
  • Traditional gift for second anniversaries.
  • 100 percent natural, untreated gemstone.