Tsavorite
Green grossular garnet from the Kenya-Tanzania border, brighter than most emerald.
- Family
- Garnet
- Formula
- Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
- Mohs
- 7 to 7.5
- System
- Cubic
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Science
Tsavorite is grossular coloured by vanadium and a little chromium, formed in the graphite-rich gneisses of the Mozambique Belt. Being singly refractive and highly refractive, it is brighter and cleaner than emerald and, unlike emerald, needs no treatment.
- Mineral
- Garnet (variety)
- Formula
- Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃
- Crystal system
- Cubic
- Mohs hardness
- 7 to 7.5
- Specific gravity
- 3.61
- Refractive index
- 1.740
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Colours
- Green, Bluish green
Composition
Ca₃Al₂(SiO₄)₃. Made of Calcium, Aluminium, Silicon, Oxygen, with trace Vanadium, Chromium responsible for colour.
Origin
- KenyaTsavo region
- TanzaniaMerelani, Lemshuko
- Madagascar
Filled dots are primary sources
Rarity
Clean stones over two carats are rare; over five carats, exceptional. Never treated.
- 1 Abundant
- 2 Common
- 3 Uncommon
- 4 Rare
- 5 Exceptional
Hardness
Tsavorite sits at 7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale. It will scratch glass and holds a polish in daily wear.
Energy
Associations from crystal-healing tradition, recorded here as folklore. They are not medical claims.
Chakras
- Heart
Element
- Earth
Zodiac
- Taurus
- Virgo
Planets
- Venus
Properties
- Abundance
- Vitality
- Compassion
- Confidence
Lore
Campbell Bridges found it in Tanzania in 1967 and Kenya in 1971; Tiffany named it after Tsavo National Park in 1974 and launched it. Bridges was killed at his Kenyan mine in 2009 in a dispute over the claim.
It has no ancient lore. Its practice associations are those of green garnet: prosperity with heart.
- Named1974, by Tiffany & Co., after Tsavo.
- LargestA 325-carat cut stone found in 2006 is the record.