Category: heritage gems singapore

Nothing spells luxury quite like rich green – a rare tsavorite and diamond engagement ring. In a vivid, alluring shade of green. It captures the attention of anyone who sets eyes on it.

What is a tsavorite? 

As with the Spinel, and Mandarin Spessatite, true gem connoisseurs know the rarity and value of the Tsavorite. It belongs to the garnet family. It ranks 7.5 on the MOHs scale and offers good scratch-resistance.

Forget about ancient history where royalties, maharajahs and maharanis have adorned the emerald in their numerous jewels and crowns in part, because mining technology in the early 1800s just simply wasn’t able to discover the Tsavorite Garnet yet. In today’s world, 99% of all emeralds have some form of oiling or resin enhancement (yes, including those accompanied by certificates from reputable gem labs stating “Minor Oiling”). Often, they are filled with fissures and fractures that it is difficult for one to really appreciate the visual beauty of the emerald (if not for the abundant marketing telling consumers that emeralds are so beautiful).

How rare is the tsavorite? 

The “downside” of the Tsavorite is that it is twice as rare as the emerald and found often, in much smaller rough sizes as compared to the emerald. With low mining and production of faceted Tsavorites, it is difficult to swarm the commercial mainstream jewellery market with Tsavorites simply because there just isn’t enough to go around. But it does not take one long to realise just how exquisite a gemstone the Tsavorite is. Relative to the emerald, the Tsavorite can withstand small knocks better mostly due to the fact that the emerald has so many fissures, internal cracks and inclusions. Due to these internal crack lines existing in 99% of emeralds, any small external impact (accidental or not) will likely result in the emerald being chipped or broken on the surface.

Tsavorites come in a beautiful range of light green, medium green to vivid and deep intense green and also in the mint shade of green.

Set in our custom-blend 18K Beige Gold, below features a vivid intense green Tsavorite and diamond engagement ring that looks so breathtaking and regal at the same time. We are in love with this piece that is not only timeless in both colour and also design. Truly elegant.

The key to finding a beautiful intense green Tsavorite is to look for one that is as eye-clean as possible. Intense vivid green Tsavorites have a tendency to look slightly lacklustre, especially if the gemstone is not well-faceted resulting in areas of dark/overcast sections. However, good quality Tsavorites usually have a ‘lively’ appearance to them, with good brilliance and scintillates even in natural daylight.