Gorgeous Mandarin Garnet

Published on: June 6th, 2019

ForteKitty originally posted this unbelievably gorgeous Nambian garnet ring on the Show Me the Bling forum at PriceScope. Whoa, that color! What an incredibly intense hue, it’s too fabulous for words!

Garnets are a set of closely related minerals that form a group, resulting in gemstones in almost every color. Red garnets have a long history, but modern gem buyers can pick from a rich palette of garnet colors: greens, oranges, pinkish oranges, deeply saturated purplish reds, and even some blues. (from GIA)

Mandarin garnet is unequivocally orange, but its exact definition can vary. “Mandarin garnet” has been used as a trade name for vivid orange spessartite garnets from Namibia as well as a trade name for all spessartite garnets that possess that color. In the mid 1990s, the only garnets that fit either description were from Namibia. Like other garnets, these gemstones were mixed species. Their average composition was 85 mol.% spessartite, 12.5 mol.% pyrope garnet, and 2.5 mol.% grossular garnet. The high manganese (Mn) content of spessartite gave them their striking orange color. (from gemsociety)

Fortekitty got this marvelous stone from MasterCutGems and held onto it for several years, waiting for the perfect setting to find her. When she went into David Klass, she was there to set another gem, but this setting spoke to her and she knew what it was meant to be.

Love it, congratulations on your ring creation success story! I hope it’s continued to bring joy in the intervening years!

The Stats:

Clarity: Vs2-SI-1

Color: intense orange no red or yellow or brown

Cut: barion brilliant oval

Origin: Namibia

Size: 11.2 x 8.4 mm

Treatment: none

Weight: 4.75 carats

Visit the original post with more pics, and join me in congratulating ForteKitty

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