Grossular

• Grossular garnets, or grossularites, get their name from the Latin word for gooseberries. Grossular garnets range from pale yellow-green to a brownish olive hue. Tsavorites are a specific type of grossular garnet from Tsavo National Park in Tanzania. All tsavorites are grossular garnets, but not all grossular garnets are tsavorite; the name describes only brilliant green garnets from Tsavo mines. Tsavorite rivals emerald in color and has a high refractive index that gives it sparkle.
  
  

Andradite

• Andradite garnets contain iron in addition to the calcium that gives them their green hue. These gems have an unusual amount of sparkle thanks to a high refractive index that scatters light throughout the gem's heart. One variety of andradite, demantoid garnet, commands a high price. The stone has such brilliance that it resembles pale green diamond. Genuine demantoid garnet has "horsetail" inclusions of asbestos that fan out throughout the gem.
  
  

Uvarovite

• Rare uvarovite is a deep blue-tinged green from chromium ions. Jewelers don't use uvarovite in jewelry, but the gem's rarity makes it a sought-after specimen for gem collectors. Its vivid, velvety green crystals are usually translucent to opaque rather than perfectly clear. Uvarovite often grows in small crystals within a substrate that, when polished, shows both the striking green of this rare garnet and the matrix surrounding it.
  
  

Hydrogrossular

• Hydrogrossular garnet looks much like jade.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Hydrogrossular garnet closely resembles jade. Sculptors can carve the translucent green stone just as they would a piece of jade, but hydrogrossular garnet is a harder and more durable substance. Though not technically a gem, this mineral form of garnet has its own lustrous appeal for artists who want a more economical alternative to costly nephrite jade.