Grossular var: Tsavorite

Item Description

Tsavorite is one of the most desirable and sought after Garnet varieties. It contains vanadium and/or chromium, and is strictly a variety of Grossular. It gets its name from the first reported locality, the Tsavo National Park in Kenya. Most people are probably familiar with Tsavorite as a faceted gem, and crystals are not terribly common on the market. When one does encounter a crystal, they typically measure in the 1 cm range, maybe a bit bigger in some cases. The crystals on this piece are LARGE for the material as the biggest one measure 2.4 cm (nearly a full inch!). The crystals are not gem quality (which is the only reason it survived as is, because if it was transparent it surely would have been faceted into a gemstone), but it still has that classic green color, and features broad dodecahedral crystal faces with high luster. Excellent quality on the front, no major damage, and it's even mostly crystallized on the back. A very impressive example of this classic, desirable and valuable material. Most Garnet species are almost never found in crystals this size, so big Tsavorite crystals are significant. BETTER IN PERSON, the green color is a bit more saturated in person than the video indicates. Valued at $2,500 on the previous dealer label.