All Topics  
Tsavorite

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link

 

Tsavorite


 
 

Tsavorite or tsavolite is a variety of the garnetGarnet

The garnet group of minerals show crystals with a habit of rhombic dodecahedrons and trapezohedrons....
 group species grossularGrossular

Grossular is a pale green, pink, brown, or black garnet, Ca3All23, occurring alone or as a constituent of the common garnet....
, a calciumCalcium

Calcium is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Ca and atomic number 20....
-aluminiumAluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Al and atomic number 13...
 garnet with the formula CaCalcium

Calcium is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Ca and atomic number 20....
3Al2SiSilicon

Silicon is the chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Si and atomic number 14....
3OOxygen Overview

Oxygen is a chemical element with the chemical symbol O and atomic number 8....
12. Trace amounts of vanadiumVanadium

Vanadium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol V and atomic number 23....
 or chromiumChromium

Chromium is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. ...
 provide the green color.

Green grossular had been rare until 1967, when British gem prospector and geologist Campbell R. Bridges came across a deposit of the mineral in the mountains of north-east TanzaniaTanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country on the east coast of Africa....
. The specimens he found were of very intense color and of high transparency. The find interested the gem trade, and attempts were made to export the stones, but the Tanzanian government did not provide permits.

Believing that the deposit was a part of a larger geological structure extending possibly into KenyaKenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in Eastern Africa....
, Bridges began prospecting in that nation. He was successful a second time in 1971, when he found the mineral variety there,and was granted a permit to mine the deposit. Until 1974, the gemstone was only known to mineral specialists; in that year Tiffany and Co launched a marketing campaign which brought broader recognition of the stone.

The name tsavorite was proposed by Tiffany and Co president Henry Platt in honor of Tsavo National Park in KenyaKenya

The Republic of Kenya is a country in Eastern Africa....
. Apart from the source locality in TanzaniaTanzania

Tanzania , officially the United Republic of Tanzania , is a country on the east coast of Africa....
 it is also found in ToliaraToliara

Toliara is a town in Madagascar. It is the largest city and capital of the Toliara province....
 (Tuléar) Province, MadagascarMadagascar

Madagascar, , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, off the eastern coast of Africa, close to Mozambique....
, but so far, no other occurrences of gem material have been discovered.

Rare in clean gems over 1 caratCarat (mass)

The carat is a unit of mass used for gems, and equals 200 milligrams or 3.086 grains ....
 (200 mg) in weight, tsavorite has been found in sizes yielding up to 15 carat (3 g) stones.

Recently, a gem quality tsavorite likely to be the largest ever discovered, over 325 carats (65 g), became available in Thailand (see "Multicolour.com" external link below).

External links