Tsavorite, Green Grossular and Andradite Garnet Rough - Dragon Treasure Gemstones

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Gallery of Green Grossular and Andradite Garnet Rough

[Last Modified: 06/14/04]

This portion of the gemstone gallery features a wide variety of green grossular and andradite-grossular garnets, including tsavorite and merelani mint.

Garnet Rough Galleries
Fancy Garnet	Fancy Grossular Garnet	Green Garnet	Pyralspite Garnet

Index of Green Garnet Rough

Tsavorite Garnet

Merelani Mint Grossular Garnet

Green Grossular Garnet

Mali Garnet (Andradite-Grossular Garnet)

Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite (or tsavolite, the preferred name in Europe) is a rare, vivid green grossular garnet found only in East Africa. The name comes from the Tsavo region in Kenya, where it was discovered during the 1960's. It is prized above all other garnets (save perhaps demantoid, the green variety of andradite). Many believe that the pure tones of tsavorite, combined with the brightness and fire of grossular garnet, make this "the" green gemstone of choice (even in preference to emerald).

Vichea Tsavorite Garnet

Vichea Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite (or tsavolite, the preferred name in Europe) is a rare, vivid green grossular garnet found only in East Africa. The name comes from the Tsavo region in Kenya, where it was discovered during the 1960's. It is prized above all other garnets (save perhaps demantoid, the green variety of andradite). Many believe that the pure tones of tsavorite, combined with the brightness and fire of grossular garnet, make this "the" green gemstone of choice (even in preference to emerald). This section contains a slightly lighter variety of tsvorites often refered to as Vichea.

Merelani Mint Grossular Garnet

Merelani Mint Grossular Garnet

Merelani Mint is the name given to a bright mint green variety of grossular garnet that has been recently discovered in the Merelani Hills of Tanzania. This is the same mining locality that is responsible for most of the world's production of tanzanite, and it is part of the same geological formation that is also the source of tsavorite. This fantastic gem rough will cut exceptionally bright and eye-catching stones. Mint colored stones of any type are fairly rare, so this is a particularly fortunate discovery. With all due respect to tsavorite, this is my personal favorite of the green garnets!

Green Grossular Garnet

Green Grossular Garnet

Technically speaking, tsavorite and Merelani mint are both just varieties of green grossular garnet. They also both come from the same general area of East Africa that produced the garnets that we are offering as "Green Grossular". So what, you ask, is the difference? It's simply a matter of degrees. Both tsavorite and Merelani mint are rightly prized for their exquisite colors (the deep, vivid green of tsavorite and the brilliant mint green of Merelani mint). The garnets we call green grossular are simply those that do not (in our opinion) have quite the right shade of green to merit the aforementioned titles. Many dealers would refer to these stones as "B-color" tsavorite or Merelani mint (these stones were described as such by the sources from which we acquired them). In any case, these are still rare and interesting gemstones that will cut excellent gems, and you may find that you are quite fond of them.

Mali Garnet (Andradite-Grossular Garnet)

Mali Garnet, mixed colors

Mali Garnet, green

Mali garnet is a rare mixture of andradite and grossular garnet recently discovered in the Republic of Mali in Western Africa. The color of Mali garnet ranges from chartreuse to yellow-green to honey to root beer. When Mali garnet was discovered it was initially mistaken for chrysoberyl, which comes in a similar range of colors. Andradite garnet is the brightest (but softest) of the gem garnets, and the green variety (demantoid) is highly prized. Mali garnet in some ways has the best qualities of both andradite and grossular, with a refractive index and dispersion higher than grossular garnet and a hardness greater than andradite. Regardless of which shades of Mali you choose, you should be able to cut exceptionally bright and attractive gems from this material.

NOTE: The images are matched as closely as possible to the color of the stones.

Gemstone Rough Galleries
Misc Gemstones	Apatite	Beryl	Chrome Diopside
Fancy Garnet	Fancy Grossular Garnet	Green Garnet	Pyralspite Garnet
Quartz	Tanzanite	Topaz	Tourmaline

Dragon Treasure Galleries
Jewelry	Finished Gemstones

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