Mahenge Spinel Price

[bunyip96]

Hello All,

I just finished cutting a small 1.25ct Mahenge spinel for my partners birthday from a piece of rough sold as a specimen. I think it is a bit sleepy compared to the Neon ones I have seen online. The only one I have seen in person is a Neon pink that performs much better than mine in low light. I knew it would be a bit dark and sleepy from the start though. More out of curiosity how much would a stone like this cost retail? I am hoping to cut some more spinels hopefully from Mahenge once I can afford more rough.
Thank you for your help pricing the stone, please let me know your thoughts on it as well as it will just help me learn more about them.

 

[bunyip96]

Hello, does anyone have any views on this stone?

 

[2Neesers]

I don’t know the answer to your question about pricing, but I wanted to say that I love the shape and the cut of the spinel!

 

[bunyip96]

Thank you, the cut is Arya Akhavan's - Lethargy. I absolutely love it for pear shaped rough as I find it makes for a nice geometric alternative and has really nice dispersion

 

[T L]

There’s a premium for precision facet work obviously, but you might want to check out some lapidaries as a guide. John Dyer, IMO, charges on the high end, while Dan Stair is on the affordable and. Instagram is a good place to start.

 

[fredflintstone]

You’re asking the wrong forum. This is a consumer's forum. There is a trade forum that is hugely knowledgeable. But I'm not allowed to name the group.


Sorry, my fingers are tied.

 

[bunyip96]

That's okay, I will try to find it. The only other one I have stumbled across so far is a payed one... I will keep in mind that this is a consumer forum in the future. I just like it for all the eye candy.

As far as Mahenge goes what do you all think about the colour etc. I have very limited experience with these stones and can't find any jewellers who stock any locally so any imput would be great.

 

[JackTrick]

From a cursory look, the glamour and bright light photos look quite nice and a pretty juicy red. However the hand shots show a darker and more purple color (could be the lighting).

Having seen a decent number of mahenge spinel, I’d say the color is good but not top tier great, as I think it runs a touch darker and doesn’t quite have the same neon electric color.

 

[bunyip96]

Thank you JackTrick, It is most likeley on the darker side as far as I can tell comparing it to videos of other mahenge. Under indoor light I think it does have a bit of a purple cast in person as well just not as sevear as the photos depict. I have wrapped it for my partners birthday so cant check until then

 

[LilAlex]

^ I agree; looks more like a garnet in many of those photos. It is a chunky cut.

That "point" makes me anxious -- I know your mounting will protect it well!

 

[minousbijoux]

Agree w/ @JackTrick. The best Mahenges are known for their neon glow, which seems absent from the example above.

 

[bunyip96]

Thank you all for confurming my suspicions. I will deffinently keep an eye out for more mahenge spinel in the future as I love cutting spinel!

 

[icy_jade]

As far as Mahenge goes what do you all think about the colour etc. I have very limited experience with these stones and can't find any jewellers who stock any locally so any imput would be great.

Color isn’t good for a mahenge. Given the carat weight and color I would say is a low few hundred type of price. Speaking as a consumer.

 

[shelovesinclusions]

I like your cut on it. The angular pear is neat looking.

 

[fredflintstone]

That's okay, I will try to find it. The only other one I have stumbled across so far is a payed one... I will keep in mind that this is a consumer forum in the future. I just like it for all the eye candy.

As far as Mahenge goes what do you all think about the colour etc. I have very limited experience with these stones and can't find any jewellers who stock any locally so any imput would be great.

It is not a pay website. It is free and consumers are welcome.

But it is not allowed to be named on this forum.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I think I can comment on this gem, since you are not buying or selling it.

If the gem looks like the first picture, and the pictures outdoors in the gem holder, then I would think around $1000 per ct would be right. It's a nice color, not the best, but nice. A Mahenge Spinel which at it's best is a neon red of a little lighter tone.
One thing that is going against you is the design. Arya's designs are more of novelty cuts named I think after video game characters, they are not what I would consider high performance designs. There is a lot of extinction in the design which is making the stone look darker than it could have been with a different design.Shapes like this are difficult to sell as you limit your buyers. Most people shopping for more classic stones like spinel, ruby, sapphire are looking for more traditional shapes.

Since you found Arya's design, I would assume you found the other forum that a few people hinted at, as I know his designs are on that website.

I see you posting has you listed as "Trade". It might be a good idea to invest in some pricing guides that are available to members of the trade.

 

[MayIHavePie]

I think I can comment on this gem, since you are not buying or selling it.

If the gem looks like the first picture, and the pictures outdoors in the gem holder, then I would think around $1000 per ct would be right. It's a nice color, not the best, but nice. A Mahenge Spinel which at it's best is a neon red of a little lighter tone.
One thing that is going against you is the design. Arya's designs are more of novelty cuts named I think after video game characters, they are not what I would consider high performance designs. There is a lot of extinction in the design which is making the stone look darker than it could have been with a different design.Shapes like this are difficult to sell as you limit your buyers. Most people shopping for more classic stones like spinel, ruby, sapphire are looking for more traditional shapes.

Since you found Arya's design, I would assume you found the other forum that a few people hinted at, as I know his designs are on that website.

I see you posting has you listed as "Trade". It might be a good idea to invest in some pricing guides that are available to members of the trade.

Funny that you say they are hard to sell--most precision cutters I know routinely cut and sell Arya's designs. While there is variation in the types of cut, performance and outline, since he does like to do themed cuts, most of them perform very well, which is probably why the United States Faceters Guild sometimes uses his designs for their annual competition.

Arya is an incredibly prolific designer and it is a weird oversimplification to say that he most does novelty cuts named after video games. For one thing, many of his design names are sexual in nature. For another, lots of them are updated classics or have traditional outlines.

 

[lelser]

I think I can comment on this gem, since you are not buying or selling it.

If the gem looks like the first picture, and the pictures outdoors in the gem holder, then I would think around $1000 per ct would be right. It's a nice color, not the best, but nice. A Mahenge Spinel which at it's best is a neon red of a little lighter tone.
One thing that is going against you is the design. Arya's designs are more of novelty cuts named I think after video game characters, they are not what I would consider high performance designs. There is a lot of extinction in the design which is making the stone look darker than it could have been with a different design.Shapes like this are difficult to sell as you limit your buyers. Most people shopping for more classic stones like spinel, ruby, sapphire are looking for more traditional shapes.

Since you found Arya's design, I would assume you found the other forum that a few people hinted at, as I know his designs are on that website.

I see you posting has you listed as "Trade". It might be a good idea to invest in some pricing guides that are available to members of the trade.

I have to laugh. I mostly cut my husband's designs but I've done very very well with Arya's. Yes, you have to match the design to the rough, and yes there is a smaller market for unique designs but I'd much rather cut the unique and find my market than crank out the same 4-5 designs over and over.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I used to cut more unique or funky designs, but found the more traditional designs and high performance designs sold better for me. Everyone’s experiences are different I’m sure. If you look around the finished jewelry shown by members on Pricescope, I think you will see a lot rounds, cushions and ovals set with a diamond halo make up most of the pieces.
Other shapes can be interesting but often involve a more expensive setting.

 

[bunyip96]

Thank you all for your replies. I will defiantly keep designs in mind for the future. I have used this design before and my partner absolutely loves the cut so I was quite happy when the rough ended up to be this shape after a preform

 

[lindam1503]

I think I can comment on this gem, since you are not buying or selling it.

If the gem looks like the first picture, and the pictures outdoors in the gem holder, then I would think around $1000 per ct would be right. It's a nice color, not the best, but nice. A Mahenge Spinel which at it's best is a neon red of a little lighter tone.
One thing that is going against you is the design. Arya's designs are more of novelty cuts named I think after video game characters, they are not what I would consider high performance designs. There is a lot of extinction in the design which is making the stone look darker than it could have been with a different design.Shapes like this are difficult to sell as you limit your buyers. Most people shopping for more classic stones like spinel, ruby, sapphire are looking for more traditional shapes.

Since you found Arya's design, I would assume you found the other forum that a few people hinted at, as I know his designs are on that website.

I see you posting has you listed as "Trade". It might be a good idea to invest in some pricing guides that are available to members of the trade.

It's unfortunate you felt the need to criticize another gem cutter, (i.e., Arya Akhavan), in your response. I am a consumer. I am not an expert in gems.
I do know common courtesy, which your response sadly lacks.

 

[PrecisionGem]

It's unfortunate you felt the need to criticize another gem cutter, (i.e., Arya Akhavan), in your response. I am a consumer. I am not an expert in gems.
I do know common courtesy, which your response sadly lacks.

You are right, that was bad form on my part.

 

[fredflintstone]

I used to cut more unique or funky designs, but found the more traditional designs and high performance designs sold better for me. Everyone’s experiences are different I’m sure. If you look around the finished jewelry shown by members on Pricescope, I think you will see a lot rounds, cushions and ovals set with a diamond halo make up most of the pieces.
Other shapes can be interesting but often involve a more expensive setting.

Yes, this is true as more traditional cuts always sold better for me than non-traditional.

With that said, there is a lot more traditional cuts on the market. So, you could speculate that is what the market wants or there are fewer lapidaries willing to take a risk, both precision and not. Don’t find many fancy cuts in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan and India.

I think probably both apply, but it is a niche market.

 

[bunyip96]

Thank you all.
I am pretty sure I have found the forum shall not be named. It looks like a good recorce going forward

 

[2Neesers]

If you’re still looking for pricing references, Multicolour has a great smart search function. I selected spinel from Mahenge for the stones in this link. They aren’t precision cut and most lean pink, but it might still give you an idea of what Mahenge spinels go for, based on color, etc.

Loose gemstones, rare colored stones, pearls and certified diamonds.

Buy loose gemstones and certified diamonds direct. Choose from over 10.000 real time gemstone inventory, including alexandrite, sapphire, ruby, tanzanite, tsavorite, spinel and tourmaline.

www.multicolour.com

 

[fredflintstone]

Thank you all.
I am pretty sure I have found the forum shall not be named. It looks like a good recorce going forward

LOL! Right out of Harry Potter!