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Mahenge spinel - big, neon but very included

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poppystar

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jan 29, 2022
Messages
40
Hi all
I noticed there are lots of Mahenge lovers here so I thought I’d ask for some views.

I saw a rather big Mahenge (4.5ct) recently, it caught my eye cos it was very neon. Unfortunately it was also v included hence it was going for less than $1000 per ct.

A friend told me I shouldn’t get it cos it’s got zero investment value but I can’t get over the neon-ness. I don’t have any Mahenge spinels at all so if i buy this it will be my first one.

I’ve been looking out for Mahenges for a while but it’s so hard to find any nice ones these days. Anything nice is at sky high prices.

Here are some photos of the Mahenge I saw.

All views would be v much appreciated :)
14B9EDBD-9BAA-4882-B0B1-21C1022FAFCE.png
 

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Oops ignore the yellow/green sapphire. That was just for comparison
 
That’s definitely not a neon color. And I agree with your friend, it has no value due to the excessive inclusions - 4.5k is outrageous
 
I would agree that doesn’t appear neon in color to me and I think that’s moreso a buzz word their attaching to help sell them stone.
 
I, too, question the neon description because it does not appear so from the pictures you shared.
 
I bought my share of imperfect stones so would ask:
- does it look better than the pics you shared? I’ve stuff that are super hard to photograph and I hate sharing those pics cos irl it looks so good but sooooo bad in photos (tho to be honest mahenge spinels usually photo extremely well)
- how many mahenge spinels have you seen irl? No offence meant just that maybe you have not seen true neon looking ones to compare.
- ultimately, how much do you really love the stone? I’ve gotten stuff that are not trade ideal but they made ME happy and I love them and ultimately I think that is what really matters, not what others think.
 
thanks all!

Icy, i have to say, it doesnt look much better than the pics i shared
and no, i havent seen that many Mahenges irl. i've seen maybe 5 in real life, and they all seem so different.

and i'll confess, part of the reason why i felt tempted is cos the vendor has lowered the price quite a lot (he's now quoting me US$500 per ct) and i'm worried i won't be able to find any better-priced Mahenges if i miss this "good deal".

Eg, Madly in Singapore quoted USD18,000 for a 2ct Mahenge o_O
 
Please don't get stuck on the word "Mahenge" Spinel, because there is poor, average, good, and great Mahenge Spinel, but the greats are very scarce anymore. Vietnam is producing some very nice reds and at much better prices. Something to think about.
 
poppystar said:
thanks all!

Icy, i have to say, it doesnt look much better than the pics i shared
and no, i havent seen that many Mahenges irl. i've seen maybe 5 in real life, and they all seem so different.

and i'll confess, part of the reason why i felt tempted is cos the vendor has lowered the price quite a lot (he's now quoting me US$500 per ct) and i'm worried i won't be able to find any better-priced Mahenges if i miss this "good deal".

Eg, Madly in Singapore quoted USD18,000 for a 2ct Mahenge o_O
Click to expand...

No lah. Madly prices are SUPER inflated chop carrot kind of price. Pls do not buy from them. Like cannot emphasise this enough. Really overpriced. The mark up is like x10. Wait you quoted USD? So yeah way more than x10 omg.

Only buy if you really love the stone, not because it’s a good deal or whatever.
 
icy_jade said:
No lah. Madly prices are SUPER inflated chop carrot kind of price. Pls do not buy from them. Like cannot emphasise this enough. Really overpriced. The mark up is like x10. Wait you quoted USD? So yeah way more than x10 omg.

Only buy if you really love the stone, not because it’s a good deal or whatever.
Click to expand...

Yes, but this is not a good deal…
 
Are the inclusions surface reaching? Will the stone crack during setting? You need to be careful about included stones as they may be “unsettable”.
 
You have to decide what you're really looking for and not just give in to FOMO.

If you want neon, then this isn't it, wait for neon. It will happen but you need to save your pennies and keep looking.

Total agreement with your friend.
 
Try hi_gems on insta? He’s got some excellent stuff but it won’t be in this size
 
Isn't it neon? it looks neon in colour to me, at least in the second pic. Or are people saying this because it doesn't seem to have any orange to it that many Mahenges do? Or is it my monitor I wonder.

I too have seen rubellites that colour but they too have been described neon, however I don't think spinels and rubellites perform the same in all lighting conditions even if they were for argument's sake very similar in colour.

Personally, I like the size, and I'm not sure if I'd agree with the assessment that because it's included, it has no value. More like it has no value to those who really dislike inclusions. It's actually really difficult these days to find nice saturated red/pink Tanzanian spinels, particularly in bigger sizes let alone 4 carat, very clean and relatively affordable. Depends how important stone size is to you - and your budget, I guess.

Also, a lot of red spinels that people refer to as old find Mahenge spinels do seem to have gas bubble like inclusions - perhaps a gemstone seller can weigh in on this.

As @icy_jade says, durability is a factor though.
 
JewelledEscalators said:
Isn't it neon? it looks neon in colour to me, at least in the second pic. Or are people saying this because it doesn't seem to have any orange to it that many Mahenges do? Or is it my monitor I wonder.

I too have seen rubellites that colour but they too have been described neon, however I don't think spinels and rubellites perform the same in all lighting conditions even if they were for argument's sake very similar in colour.

Personally, I like the size, and I'm not sure if I'd agree with the assessment that because it's included, it has no value. More like it has no value to those who really dislike inclusions. It's actually really difficult these days to find nice saturated red/pink Tanzanian spinels, particularly in bigger sizes let alone 4 carat, very clean and relatively affordable. Depends how important stone size is to you - and your budget, I guess.

Also, a lot of red spinels that people refer to as old find Mahenge spinels do seem to have gas bubble like inclusions - perhaps a gemstone seller can weigh in on this.

As @icy_jade says, durability is a factor though.
Click to expand...

thanks! actually u have pretty much voiced my view. i thought the stone was relatively neon when i saw it in real life
there were a lot of other types of stones, and that Mahenge caught my eye
and yes, obviously i'd like to buy a clear and saturated stone that's above 1ct, but these days prices are so prohibitive
 
You know, if it looks way better than it does in the photos you shared and caught your eye, then discount some of the comments here. After all, we didn’t see the stone in person, you did. If you feel gutted by the thought of not getting it, then do it and be happy. Just be sure that the inclusions will not affect durability. No surface reaching ones, etc.
 
icy_jade said:
You know, if it looks way better than it does in the photos you shared and caught your eye, then discount some of the comments here. After all, we didn’t see the stone in person, you did. If you feel gutted by the thought of not getting it, then do it and be happy. Just be sure that the inclusions will not affect durability. No surface reaching ones, etc.
Click to expand...

I have a spinel that is quite included with surface reaching inclusions, but it has survived being set, unset, recut and reset. They may make the stone less durable, but to what extent and what I can expect from it in the future after some wear I've yet to find out from experience.

I'm always confused by the impact of 'surface reaching' though. I have a ruby with a line across the surface (heated and with moderate residues) but after 2 years of wear, can't see any difference. But I wonder if this also is down to treatment (flux healed?). It along with the spinel also has some inclusions that are like very small pits as the stone is cut acrosss an inclusion - I wonder if these are less of a threat to integrity compared to ones that reach deep into the stone (I assume they are).

Sometimes before purchasing a stone at an auction, I have asked gemmologists whether there are any surface reaching inclusions (where they exist) or ones that compromise integrity, and sometimes I am told, no nothing to worry about in their view, and other times, they are reluctant to commit to an answer one way or the other, and other times they say there may be a risk - I've assumed the difference in answers are more to do with the type, position and extent of the inclusions than honesty or optimism/caution, though I can be wrong. Maybe the ones that don't commit to an answer are not sure.
 
poppystar said:
thanks! actually u have pretty much voiced my view. i thought the stone was relatively neon when i saw it in real life
there were a lot of other types of stones, and that Mahenge caught my eye
and yes, obviously i'd like to buy a clear and saturated stone that's above 1ct, but these days prices are so prohibitive
Click to expand...

I think above 1 carat but under 1.5 might still be affordable.
 
I think "no value" should read "less value".

If I load a red spinel in GemEPrice at 4 cts this is how they break down the cost, with only the clarity changing. I just selected kind of a medium quality hue and saturation, not trying to duplicate the stone in this thread.

Loup Clean $1850 per ct.
Eye Clean $1750 per ct
Slight $1650 per ct
Moderate $1350 per ct.
Heavy $825 per ct
Severe $330 per ct.
 
I don't think that I'd consider it "neon" by any stretch of the imagination, but I do quite like the color of it & the size is wonderful.

From the above comment It's looking like $500/per carat is reasonable. It doesn't look severely included but I'd think more photos would be needed to determine.

If I had fallen in love with it, couldn't stop thinking about it, & knew that the stone didn't have any intense treatments, I think I'd go out on my haggler limb & offer the seller $1,800 - 2,000k for it. The worst case is he/she says no, - you still have to have it & spend $250- 450 more.

I think it'd look beautiful bezeled in 18k yellow gold but then again I'm a bezel wh*re!
 
I'm not sure of pricing on any of these vendors, but if you want red, they have reds.
I don't think there are any super bargains to be had here, though.
*or I'm sure they can get you what you want.

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The price for the one shown is reasonable for the inclusions.
Is it size you're after?
 
Here's my two cents.

If you love the colour, it matters very little what others think of it. If what you see is neon gorgeousness, who cares if it's not really neon by trade standards?

What's important is that it isn't sold to you as something it isn't and that the price is fair. Plenty has been said on that already.

The only thing I would want to add relates to your friend saying "it’s got zero investment value". This is true, but it's true not just regarding this stone. You buy gemstones to wear and enjoy, not as investments to resell for profit at a later point. If you do the latter, you're setting a financial trap for yourself. So it's best to just focus on getting stuff you really love and to pay a fair price for them.
 
poppystar said:
Hi all
I noticed there are lots of Mahenge lovers here so I thought I’d ask for some views.

I saw a rather big Mahenge (4.5ct) recently, it caught my eye cos it was very neon. Unfortunately it was also v included hence it was going for less than $1000 per ct.

A friend told me I shouldn’t get it cos it’s got zero investment value but I can’t get over the neon-ness. I don’t have any Mahenge spinels at all so if i buy this it will be my first one.

I’ve been looking out for Mahenges for a while but it’s so hard to find any nice ones these days. Anything nice is at sky high prices.

Here are some photos of the Mahenge I saw.

All views would be v much appreciated :)
14B9EDBD-9BAA-4882-B0B1-21C1022FAFCE.png
Click to expand...

Out of interest, are the smudged looking places just smudges or are they inclusions?
 
PrecisionGem said:
I think "no value" should read "less value".

If I load a red spinel in GemEPrice at 4 cts this is how they break down the cost, with only the clarity changing. I just selected kind of a medium quality hue and saturation, not trying to duplicate the stone in this thread.

Loup Clean $1850 per ct.
Eye Clean $1750 per ct
Slight $1650 per ct
Moderate $1350 per ct.
Heavy $825 per ct
Severe $330 per ct.
Click to expand...

Are these retail prices?
 
I'm going to say buy it. It caught your eye, which is a big deal to me. You can afford it. It isn't easily replaced and I think you will regret letting it pass. Four cts is a big deal in and of itself, and we never know if the last ones are mined or not. Just do it. (Or give me the deets if you pass!)
 
PrecisionGem said:
Technically that's wholesale prices, but in todays world wholesale price and retail is kind of blurry. I think about the only place that really sells at retail is brick and mortar jewelry stores.
Click to expand...

Thanks.
 
ItsMainelyYou said:
I'm not sure of pricing on any of these vendors, but if you want red, they have reds.
I don't think there are any super bargains to be had here, though.
*or I'm sure they can get you what you want.

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The price for the one shown is reasonable for the inclusions.
Is it size you're after?
Click to expand...

i'm after good colour, and hopefully in a size above 1.5ct
and these days that seems quite a difficult endeavour with the good quality spinels :cry2:
 
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