Green-Eyed Monster

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Actually, the green-eyed monster pretty perfectly describes my feelings whenever I see a piece of tsavorite garnet, whether it’s in jewellery or not. It’s my favourite green stone and I’m sorry, for my money, it beats emerald into a cocked hat. It’s bright green, extremely brilliant and unlike emerald, it’s not routinely treated. Tsavorite garnet, in case you don’t know is the transparent lime-green to emerald green variety of grossular garnet, and actually, the colour is due to the same minerals that colour emeralds – chromium or vanadium.  A relative newcomer, it was discovered in the 1960s and is mined in Kenya and Tanzania. It’s hard to find in large sizes, in fact the finest emerald green colour rarely occurs in crystals larger than 2 carats, and so larger stones are therefore a great deal more expensive. Smaller stones are not too expensive, however, and in fact it works really well in pave settings as it is so brilliant.

For centuries, garnet has been thought of as a travellers stone; according to legend Noah’s ark was supposed to have a garnet lantern to help with navigation. In particular, garnet is supposed to promote strength, vitality and positivity, so you really can’t go wrong! We have tsavorite garnet rose cuts in small sizes – 2mm, 3mm and 4mm, starting from $4.25 for a 2mm stone, and I will be listing a few 5mm stones in the next few days. You can browse the collection by clicking here.

Below from top are Ileana Makri’s Angry Tear Studs with diamonds, sapphires and tsavorites, and Pernille Lauridsen’s Gold and Tsavorite Ring

Ileana Makri Angry Tear Stud in 18k Gold with Diamonds, Sapphires and Tsavorites, $4540 USD
Ileana Makri Angry Tear Stud in 18k Gold with Diamonds, Sapphires and Tsavorites, $4540 USD
Pernille Lauridsen Wailani Gold and Tsavorite Ring, $595
Pernille Lauridsen Wailani Gold and Tsavorite Ring, $595

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March Newsletter; new additions, great discount!

Banner March 2016

Out now; my March 2016 newsletter with a round-up of new additions, gemstone news and the all-important reader offer – this month a birthstone offer – which I have interpreted very widely, taking in many different birthstone systems and adopting a very loose interpretation, to apply to all aquamarine and agate across my store. That’s cabochons, rose cuts, gemstones, beads and freeforms, all on 15% off for the month of March. Click here to open the newsletter and pick up the discount code, or go to www.joopygems.com to sign up and make sure you never miss out!

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