Green garnet is a rarer color of garnet, a stone we carry, so start with the garnet page. Most of it is tsavorite. Cheap strands sold under this name can be glass or dyed stone.
Silicate (garnet) · Garnet
Green Garnet
Granate verde
- Palette
- Green
- Mined in
- Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar, Russia, Finland
- Hardness
- Mohs 6.5–7.5 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- Prehistoric
- Named for
- Latin granatus, grain or seed, likely from pomegranate seeds
- Also sold as
- tsavorite, tsavolite, grossular garnet, uvarovite, demantoid
- Intention
- Love Abundance
- Looking for
- Love Prosperity
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Green garnet sold as tsavorite is sold as natural, with no dye or heat stated by the seller we read.
Not in our pieces now
0.057
Demantoid garnet's dispersion, the fire in a cut stone, is 0.057, higher than diamond's, and its name comes from old German for diamond.
116.76 CARATS
The Lion of Merelani, a 116.76-carat cushion-cut tsavorite with 177 facets, is on display at the Smithsonian.
HENRY PLATT
The Tiffany president Henry Platt chose the name tsavorite to honor Tsavo East National Park in Kenya.
What it is
Garnet in green, mostly tsavorite, a bright grass-to-forest green grossular colored by trace vanadium or chromium. Uvarovite is a rarer chromium garnet that forms tiny crystals. Both are far scarcer and costlier than red garnet, and 'green garnet' on a bead strand can be glass, dyed quartz or another green stone.
What gives it its color
Trace amounts of vanadium or chromium give tsavorite, the green garnet, its color.
Where it comes from
Tsavorite was found in the Tsavo area of Kenya and in northeast Tanzania, and smaller amounts come from Madagascar.
In history
Green garnets are late arrivals: demantoid was found in Russia's Ural Mountains in 1851 and was set in jewelry by Peter Carl Faberge, and tsavorite was discovered by Campbell Bridges in Tanzania in 1967. Tiffany & Co. launched tsavorite to the public in 1974.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, green garnet is a heart-center stone. It's traditionally associated with unconditional love and with prosperity.
People wear it as jewelry or hold it in either hand. The old lore around garnet is about red stones, not green.
How people wear or keep it: On the wrist, on a necklace, or held in the hand.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, green garnet is paired with the heart chakra, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: on the wrist, on a necklace, held in the hand. People reach for it when they want love, prosperity, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraHeart
ZodiacAquarius
BirthstoneJanuary
Anniversary2nd (as garnet)
ElementFire
Also calledtsavorite, tsavolite, grossular garnet
Care
- Hard enough for daily wear, though a sharp knock can chip it.
- Wipe with a soft cloth and mild soapy water, then dry it.
- Skip steam cleaners and sudden temperature changes.
- Store it apart from harder stones.
- Ask what the strand really is, since glass and dyed stones are sold as green garnet.
How to tell what you have
- Tsavorite is a bright grass-to-forest green garnet, hardness 7 to 7.5, singly refractive and fairly heavy; it is much scarcer than red garnet, so a bargain strand sold as green garnet is often green glass, dyed quartz or another green stone.
- Ask which species it is and check for natural inclusions; a perfectly clean, same-color strand at a low price is a warning sign.
What sets the price
Price follows the variety: rich green tsavorite is rare and costly, while paler or yellower green garnet costs less. Clarity and size matter too, and large clean stones climb steeply.
Questions people ask at our table
Is green garnet different from the garnet you carry?
It is another color of garnet, and we carry garnet, so start with the garnet page. Green garnet is rarer and is mostly tsavorite or uvarovite.
Is it natural or dyed?
Tsavorite and uvarovite are natural. Cheap green strands sold under this name may be glass, dyed quartz or another green stone, so ask for the stone's true name.
What is tsavorite?
A green variety of grossular garnet colored by trace vanadium or chromium. It is named for Tsavo East National Park in Kenya.
How is it different from peridot or emerald?
Peridot is a yellower olive green, and emerald is a different mineral, beryl. Tsavorite is usually a purer, more vivid green. A gem lab or a trusted seller can tell them apart.
Where does it come from?
Tsavorite is mined in Kenya, Tanzania and Madagascar. Uvarovite is found in Russia and Finland.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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