Hardness: 7.00
Refractive Index: 1.69-1.73
Specific Gravity: 3.49
Birthstone:
Astral Stone:
Anniversary Stone:
Origination: Kenya
Care & Cleaning: Clean with a soft polishing cloth, plain water rinse, mild solution of soap & water or commercial jewelry cleaner.
Fiction, Facts & Folklore:
Tsavorite (pronounced �sav-oh-rite�) is the vivid emerald-green variety of the grossular garnet mineral group.
Tsavorite owes its� color to chromium and vanadium.
Astrologers generally link the tsavorite to the planet Mercury.
Tsavorite gets its name from the initial site where it was found, the Tsavo National Park in Kenya. It was first discovered in alluvial deposits along the banks of the Tsavo River that divides Kenya from Tanzania.
The Tsavo National Park is over 8,000 square miles in size, making it one of the largest national parks in the world.
Since 1968 over 50 deposits have been explored by miners, yet today only one is considered a significant source for tsavorite.
Large solitaires are seldom seen, and those of two carats or more can cost thousands of dollars per carat at retail.
Small deposits of tsavorite sometimes surface in neighboring Tanzania, but these finds have not impacted the retail market to date. Because these discoveries are so inconsistent, Tanzania is not as of now considered a viable source for tsavorite.
A new variety of simulated tsavorite known as �yarolite� has recently made its� way into the retail marketplace. Concerns for the future of tsavorite continue to mount.
For additional information, see "grossular garnet."