Tsavorite:Discovery of Green Vanadium-Chrome Grossular and Its Market Situation Analysis

Recent years，agreen gem named Tsavorite became a new star in gem market.It can compare with emerald in colour，lustre，clarity and durability，but its production is far less than that of emerald.It is thus widely concerned and is called“agem rarer than emerald”.Some current researches on vanadian-chromian grossulars（Tsavorite）from East Africa and other origins for their mineralogical and geochemical characteristics have been presented.However，the perception on its discovery and price variability on the market are rather limited.This paper summarized the discovery of Tsavorite，analyzed its Chinese translation nomenclature，and reviewed the most recent studies on its genesis and origin.On these bases，the authors made multifaceted comparison on Tsavorite with other similar green gemstones for their situations in domestic as well as overseas markets，and explored its developing prospects.The authors think that the history of Tsavorite is short，but the speed of its development is fast.Since its debut to world market in 1974，the international market prices of Tsavorite generally rose by 5to 10times.Especially over the past ten years，the price of Tsavorite has risen steadily.And after 2014，the rising trend has significantly accelerated.In domestic market，its value appreciation is relatively late，but in recent years it has showed obvious upward trend.From 2008 to 2013，its market price rose up to 200%-300%.The price of Tsavorite per carat varies remarkably with its weight and quality grade，sales channel and market region，which shows that the recognition on the value of Tsavorite in different regional market varies.Comparing with other green gems，Tsavorite has preliminarily formed its high-end green gem image in the market with its unique colour，favorable physical properties，and excellent durability.And no matter in the foreign market or domestic market，the price of Tsavorite has reached the level of middle or high-end gem and its future is promising.Especially，the value of large stones has great potential.Because unstable yield of Tsavorite impeded its market development and promotion，its price expectation has not been fulfilled.We believe that with further scientific research and promotion of production，Tsavorite will gain much more awareness and acceptance.It will become the elite of green gemstones in the domestic and foreign markets in the future.