Whilst many gem-lovers have indulged themselves in the joy of owning Diamonds, Ruby, Emerald and Sapphires, many have not yet discovered equally rare and fine gems such as Tsavorite. Still relatively unknown to the gem-buying public, stones like Tsavorite present a unique and exciting opportunity as due to the fact they are little known, their prices are still relatively low compared with the "big 4". This will not always be the case as the charms of this beautiful gemstone is quickly becoming known to jewelers the world over who are marketing it to their clients creating a pull effect through the market which will eventually push up prices.
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Tsavorite is such exciting gem for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is a gemologically superior gemstone with very high brilliance, life, hardness, is extremely rare and most important, is very beautiful. In terms of its gemological properties: Its Refractive Index is very high at 1.74 (Ruby and Sapphire are 1.76) which means that it bends light to a high degree and as such, has excellent light return and hence brilliance. This is aided by its high Hardness on the Mohs scale (a rating of 7.5) which means it takes a good polish which leads to excellent luster. Its Dispersion Rating is double that of its green rival, Emerald, meaning that it is a much more firey gem. In terms of rarity, there is only 1 commercial source in the whole world - in East Africa.
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When looking to buy a Tsavorite, it is important you consider the 4C's just as if you were buying a Diamond. The first, and most important of these is Color. Obviously if the color is not fine, the stone will not be beautiful and it will lose its "raison d'etre". So look for a deep color saturation with a pure green (minimal yellow modifier is important-yellow is the bane of Tsavorite). The saturation of the color must be vivid. When buying online, this can be a confusing prospect as there are so many sellers all proclaiming their stones to be the finest and all the colors seem different. I suggest you use the resources at the bottom of this article to get a better idea of how color grades are constituted.
Second is Clarity. Many online sellers try to ignore or downplay this factor. The truth is that the majority of Tsavorite contains quite heavy inclusions and the majority of online sellers are peddling this material. The prices for Tsavorite that is moderately included is very different from those that are very slightly included or clean so keep this in mind. Fine stones should be almost loupeclean or loupeclean.
Thirdly, consider the quality of the cut, including symmetry, faceting and proportions. Fine stones are well proportioned, have proper facet junctions and good symmetry. The cut is instrumental in creating brilliance and badly cut stones lack brilliance and hence beauty to don't overlook this.
Carat Weight - this is the fourth "C" and is important with this gem type as Tsavorite does not come in large sizes generally speaking. The vast majority of Tsavorites are well below a carat and fine stones of 2 carats are considered very rare. This means that the per carat price increases quicker with Tsavorite than most stones as large Tsavorites as relatively so much rarer. A very fine 4 carat can retail as high as 00 per carat.
In summary, Tsavorite is a very exciting, beautiful gemstone with a bright future. Those gem enthusiasts that invest in a fine large piece now will be well placed to see the value of their investment rise in the near future as demand for the stone increases as consumers become more knowledgeable.
Tsavorite - A World-Class Gemstone
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