Help with green garnet

[BSto]

So the other day I dug out this green garnet necklace my mum gave me as a 21st birthday present and I ran across this forum where I noticed that lots of people are fanatic about green garnets so I hope someone on here can help me.



I have 2 questions:-

1. The only information I have on it is the jeweller told my mother when she bought it that it was "from Russia" and was rare, only a few were mined and this was his last one in stock. She found and gave me this insurance certificate which states the garnet is an: Oval 1.04ct Green "Grossular" Garnet so I did some research and found that it was likely a tsarvorite because all Russian grossular garnets were very yellow/brown and not at all like mine and I don't think "Russian" tsarvorite garnets exist by definition. No other certification came with it which I gather is a problem.
Then to complicate things just as I begin to be comfortable that I might be dealing with a tsavorite I went to see another jeweller (same place, different person) who glances at my garnet and declares it a demantoid! Now I read that all Russian demantoid mining was done decades ago but after this I did a bit more research and found that there was limited mining of garnets in 1999, she bought it in early 2007 so that could check out? No horsetails that I can see either.
So who is right, the original jeweller and his insurance information or the latest one? What do you people reckon, do I have a demantoid or a tsavorite, or has my mother been well and truly had and it's not a garnet at all? I'm only asking for opinion, I'm not planning on selling the stone so I'm just curious. There's no gemstone appraisal place near me so I won't be doing that anytime soon.

2. I want to have the stone reset in a ring. I was never keen on this necklace, to be honest I found the green garnet a bit garish! And I think the necklace does it no favours. So what sort of setting would suit a ring like this? It is a beautiful stone and it glows fantastically. Right now the only thing I have decided on is I don't want a halo. It's about 5 mm x 7 mm.



Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[LoversKites]

I don't know what the the stone is from pictures and opinions. Could one of your jewelers do an refractive index test? That will determine which one it is, if it's one of them.

Tsavorite's RI is 1.73 - 1.75
Demantoid's RI is 1.80-1.89 -- a very sparkly stone.

FYI, even though demantoid mining in the Urals is over (at least I think it is), Russian demantoid is still attainable, so it's not an impossibility.

As for setting, others will be more of a help.

 

[T L]

You may damage the setting if you take the tsavorite out. It looks to be a tsavorite to me, but I would have a gemologist check it out to make sure. There are other green stones that emulate tsavorite, like chrome diopside (which comes from Russia as well), and tourmaline. Also, just know there's a slight chance that the stone might might be damaged under the bezel. The bezel might be covering a chip or something, which I've seen happen with lots of unset, once bezel set stones, especially stones with rather thick bezels like yours. You could therefore, replace the rabbit head with a shank and keep the original bezeled design in a ring.

 

[Marlow]

2007!

Could be a namibian demantoid - they have sometimes a grayish green color and no horsetail!

Many are sold as russian demantoid and a lot of jewellers are " real gem experts"

 

[chrono]

I cannot say whether it is a tsavorite or demantoid by your pictures and it sounds like there is no one in your area who might have a refractometer (although I don't think it can be checked whilst bezel set). Given that the stone is new-ishly purchased in 2007, it could be a Namibian demantoid. Unfortunately, many local jewellers do not know coloured stones well outside of blue sapphires so I would take the original vendor's Russian origin claim with a grain of salt.

Tsavorite is hardier than demantoid so I would be very cautious as to any potential damage currently hidden under the bezel. I would also put extra thought into the ring design as to protect the stone as much as possible if it is a demantoid.

 

[BSto]

Thanks for the replies. I knew it would be difficult to identify from photos, I think I'll have to start looking into the possibility that it could be chrome diopside or tourmaline as well! I'm guessing that it would be possible to get a refractive index test and/or a gemologist to look at it but it would be a case of sending it "away" because I live on a pretty small island. Also there's no greyishness to it at all, it's a brilliant green colour. I almost wish it was just so I'd have an answer!
Really I wanted to know what the stone is so as to inform how to reset it, how likely it is to chip if it gets reset etc. Some more information: it was my mother who chose the setting and as far as I'm aware it wasn't put in there to hide anything. Also the bezel is deceptive, it's sort of tall and hollow, as shown here (needs a clean too by the looks of it):
The jeweller suggested I keep it in the bezel too which does make sense. I have nothing against bezels at all, I like them, I just don't like this one! It's very high and I just don't think it would suit a ring.
I'm still debating what to do, I just want to do the stone justice.