Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite is the green garnet, and its color is the reason to want it: a pure, faintly yellowish green with none of the gray that flattens cheaper green stones. It reads brighter than emerald at the same saturation because there is less to absorb the light.

It is scarce in size. Most rough yields stones under a carat, so anything above two is genuinely uncommon and priced that way. At Mohs 7 to 7.5 with no cleavage plane it is markedly tougher than emerald and takes daily wear in a ring without special care — the practical reason to choose it over one.