Merelani Mint Garnet

[nicholerh]

Hello. I'm not a regular poster to the board but I do lurk a lot
I'm coming out of lurk-mode because I am seeking some advice. I'm looking at getting a ring made up with my January birth stone and after browsing all the different varieties of garnet I've been smitten with the mints. Blue and green are my favorite colors so I don't think it gets any more perfect than that.

From my readings around on previous posts, the cost for a nice minty garnet (larger size) will run me abour 800-1000 per ct. Does this still sound right?

Settings: I've been trying to find examples of mints in both white and yellow settings. I prefer yellow gold settings on my skin tone and was wondering if you thought this would bring out the yellow in the stone? I really dislike the yellow tones in some of the mint stones. The setting itself will be rather simple.

Thanks all!

 

[sleepyspinel]

I too am a January born person and I am so thankful that there are so many new and vibrant colors of garnets to choose from!

Mints are a really great choice since you can capitalize on the brilliance that garnets are capable of yet enjoy a nice refreshing mint color. What size were you shooting for, and general shapes that you find acceptable? Depending upon your needs you might not have to look too hard.

Unfortunately, I do believe that yellow gold will de-emphasize the bluish tint to the green (if the stone happens to have one). I think to get the crisp minty look, you''ll probably need to stick with a white metal. Hope this helps.

-SS

Date: 8/23/2009 8:37:27 PM
Author:nicholerh
Hello. I''m not a regular poster to the board but I do lurk a lot
I''m coming out of lurk-mode because I am seeking some advice. I''m looking at getting a ring made up with my January birth stone and after browsing all the different varieties of garnet I''ve been smitten with the mints. Blue and green are my favorite colors so I don''t think it gets any more perfect than that.

From my readings around on previous posts, the cost for a nice minty garnet (larger size) will run me abour 800-1000 per ct. Does this still sound right?

Settings: I''ve been trying to find examples of mints in both white and yellow settings. I prefer yellow gold settings on my skin tone and was wondering if you thought this would bring out the yellow in the stone? I really dislike the yellow tones in some of the mint stones. The setting itself will be rather simple.

Thanks all!

 

[Lady_Disdain]

To me, a true mint shouldn''t have yellow undertones, but tend more towards the blue side (but not an all out bluish green). Since mint garnets are commanding a premium, I feel that too many vendors are sticking the label to any light green stone.

But, to answer your question, I would rather set a mint in white metal, because of the cool colour. Yellow may be too warm.

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Date: 8/23/2009 8:37:27 PM
Author:nicholerh
Hello. I''m not a regular poster to the board but I do lurk a lot
I''m coming out of lurk-mode because I am seeking some advice. I''m looking at getting a ring made up with my January birth stone and after browsing all the different varieties of garnet I''ve been smitten with the mints. Blue and green are my favorite colors so I don''t think it gets any more perfect than that.

From my readings around on previous posts, the cost for a nice minty garnet (larger size) will run me abour 800-1000 per ct. Does this still sound right?

Settings: I''ve been trying to find examples of mints in both white and yellow settings. I prefer yellow gold settings on my skin tone and was wondering if you thought this would bring out the yellow in the stone? I really dislike the yellow tones in some of the mint stones. The setting itself will be rather simple.

Thanks all!

Mint Merlani Garnets are from a find in Tanzania, not too far from the Tsavorite mining region. Both are green grossular garnets but the mint garnet does not have enough color saturation to be considered a tsavorite.They occur in the same geological environment but the Mint garnet is not imparted with enough chromium or vanadium to give it the saturation necessary to call it tsavorite.

Like Lady Disdain commented they range in color from a mint/slight yellow color to a mint/slight blue color. The mint/blue color usually demands a little premium, but generally in the market for larger stones there is no real price differences.
Nice clean stones over 1 carat are not common, clean stones over 2 carats are very rare and relative to market trends the 2 plus carats can double in price.

Stones 3 carats plus will demand a high premium and will reflect individual stone characteristics and who the particular vendor might be.
So when you mention larger size…What size range are you looking for?

$800-$1000 ct. is not out of proportion for retail costs on a nice stone…

Depending on how much your willing to spend I would get an independent appraisal with the sale being contingent on verification of the material.

I like the idea of a simple yellow gold setting. It will be exciting to see what you choose...

 

[Harriet]

If you don''t like the yellow secondary, stay away from yellow gold. Have you considered rose gold? It''s a smashing combination. I''ll be using rose gold when I get around to setting my pair of mints.

 

[packrat]

I second the rose gold! I''ve been dying for someone to use this combo! I''ve been browsing a little tonight looking for a mint stone so I can do rg w/it!

 

[Colored Gemstone Nut]

Date: 8/23/2009 10:49:55 PM
Author: Harriet
If you don''t like the yellow secondary, stay away from yellow gold. Have you considered rose gold? It''s a smashing combination. I''ll be using rose gold when I get around to setting my pair of mints.

Good suggestion Harriet...

Rose gold, also known as pink gold or red gold, has a mixture of pure yellow gold with a high percentage of copper.

It has a very subtle and delicate color that may intensify somewhat with age due to a slight, but attractive, tarnishing of the the copper.

It would make a great combo...

 

[nicholerh]

Color wise I will be seeking the blueish green and am going to try my best to avoid the yellow tints. I realize I'll probably still see a wee bit of yellow depending on the lighting, and that is a-o-k.

Size wise I will be seeking somewhere in the 2-2.7 carat range. The cut I *want* is a cushion, but am open to a round or oval.

Great idea with the rose gold, I will definitely be testing that one out! I am lucky enough to live by Greenlake Jewelry Works in Seattle so I will have them set whatever stone I get. Something nice and simple, I think it'll be lovely.

Thanks so much for all this information!

 

[Harriet]

Oops, it must be time for me to turn in. I don''t have mint garnets. I have mint tourmalines. I think my rose gold suggestion still applies. G''nite nicolerh. I''ll give you a hand tomorrow.

 

[nicholerh]

If I can''t find a nice gem in the 2+ range (or the price is out of my range) then I''ll look smaller, but I am hoping to find a nice plump one in that 2.5ish size

 

[ma re]

As for the setting, how about one with yellow gold next to the skin and white next to the metal (two tone)?

As for prices, I think you can find them for quite a bit less than 800$/ct, but not sure if that can happen in the States. HERE is a minty tsavorite at 2+cts. Sure, it''s native cut, but for that amount you can''t expect much more.

 

[chrono]

You’ve got the right idea. My interpretation of a mint garnet means it should have a slight blue undertone. And for the size you are looking, your guess on the pricing sounds about right too. I would recommend staying away from yellow metals to highlight the cool minty colour so white metal is my choice. Some rose gold tends to be very red so be careful when choosing to go this route.

 

[marcy]

Everyone has given you any advice or comments I would add but I too like the mint garnets in white gold. Have fun shopping and I will look forward to your finished project.

 

[icekid]

Date: 8/23/2009 10:49:55 PM
Author: Harriet
If you don''t like the yellow secondary, stay away from yellow gold. Have you considered rose gold? It''s a smashing combination. I''ll be using rose gold when I get around to setting my pair of mints.

I am just waiting for the right stone to come along to give the mint green/pink gold a try myself. It is definitely striking! Earrings for your tourmalines, H?

 

[nicholerh]

Thanks again for the suggestions. This project isn''t happening right this very minute so I can be a patient girl and wait for the right stone to come along. Whenever I manage to get an update I will let you fine people know.

 

[Harriet]

Date: 8/24/2009 7:58:08 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 8/23/2009 10:49:55 PM
Author: Harriet
If you don''t like the yellow secondary, stay away from yellow gold. Have you considered rose gold? It''s a smashing combination. I''ll be using rose gold when I get around to setting my pair of mints.

I am just waiting for the right stone to come along to give the mint green/pink gold a try myself. It is definitely striking! Earrings for your tourmalines, H?

Yes, mindreader.

 

[Gailey]

Hi Nicholerh, here''s a few I found for you to take a look at:

Gemfix
Forever Gemstones
Gemrite
Pala
Lapigems
The Gem Trader

 

[nicholerh]

Well I''m a little bummed. I contacted Richard from concave gems because I looooove the stuff they do. Sadly the stone I want at the size I want would be way out of budget - more like $1500 per carat, leaving me in the 1-1.5 carat range for a nicely cut stone. Now I have to decide if I want to go somewhere else, settle for a smaller stone cut by them, or wait a while till my budget could allow for such a stone.

Oh decisions!

 

[Gailey]

Date: 8/26/2009 12:52:46 PM
Author: nicholerh
Well I''m a little bummed. I contacted Richard from concave gems because I looooove the stuff they do. Sadly the stone I want at the size I want would be way out of budget - more like $1500 per carat, leaving me in the 1-1.5 carat range for a nicely cut stone. Now I have to decide if I want to go somewhere else, settle for a smaller stone cut by them, or wait a while till my budget could allow for such a stone.

Oh decisions!

What appeals to you most Nicolerh? Colour, cutting style, cutter preference etc? Does it have to be a mint garnet? You might have more options if you consider mint tourmalines. Paraiba has quite a few mint tourmalines.

 

[Fly Girl]

My suggestion would be to save your $$$ and go for the Richard Homer. His work is indeed worth the extra cost. Truly heirloom quality. You could work through someone like Wink Jones and see if lay-away is a possibility. My guess is the that prices of these stones will continue to increase.

 

[nicholerh]

Color is the most important thing, but cut is a close second. I really admire the gems cut by concave gems.

I''m going with garnet because I''m seeking a birth stone ring. I do like color changes so that is an option, but those mints are my #1 choice. Just my luck they''d be the more expensive of options.

I''m in no hurry for the gem. This was supposed to be a January bday present - my husband doesn''t care when this happens but I haven''t asked about bumping up the budget yet

 

[chrono]

Have you considered any of John Dyer’s gemstones? He is another cutter who combines top quality colour with superb cutting.

 

[nicholerh]

I have not, but i will certainly take a look!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Sounds like you have a lovely stone in mind.

As for richard homer, he does command a premium price. However because of the nature of his cutting he ends up taking more of the pavilion than the average cutter. So his stones face up a little larger than the ct weight suggests. Do you know about how many mm in diameter you would like the stone to be? This might be a more useful guide than the ct weight.

I would look at some of the other cutters too and get an idea of what you like best.

 

[nicholerh]

I had the same thought regarding carat weight vs desired size. I''m seeking approx 8-10mm which is still out of my budget no matter how I slice and dice it unless I go smaller or find a stone elsewhere - or go an entirely different direction and seek out a different color of garnet.

 

[chrono]

LtF,
I’m not sure about RH being able to have the stone face up larger than the ct weight suggests. I have a RH concave cut blue zircon and it is incredibly small. It is over 3 ct but faces up like a 2 ct stone.

 

[ma re]

Date: 8/27/2009 8:07:53 AM
Author: Chrono
LtF,
I’m not sure about RH being able to have the stone face up larger than the ct weight suggests. I have a RH concave cut blue zircon and it is incredibly small. It is over 3 ct but faces up like a 2 ct stone.

You probably know this, but zircon might not be the best example as it's one of the most dense materials used for faceting into gemstones (with specific gravity at about 5g/ccm).

 

[chrono]

Ma Re,
From the side view, I can see that the zircon has quite a bit of depth, which is what I''m basing the smaller face up size on.

 

[T L]

Date: 8/23/2009 10:07:52 PM
Author: Lady_Disdain
To me, a true mint shouldn't have yellow undertones, but tend more towards the blue side (but not an all out bluish green). Since mint garnets are commanding a premium, I feel that too many vendors are sticking the label to any light green stone.

But, to answer your question, I would rather set a mint in white metal, because of the cool colour. Yellow may be too warm.

I'm afraid I agree with you Lady D. I think that they're labeling any light toned grossular garnet as a mint garnet, and for a color purist, this isn't true. A mint color should probably be a GIA gemset slightly bluish Green 2/4 or 2/3.

With mint garnets, you also want to avoid ones that are too grey. I was at a gem show this weekend, and a vendor I was talking to wanted 800 to 1K per carat, and they were a bluish green, but very desaturated and they had grey in them. The sparkle factor was great though because they were precision faceted.

As for grossulars in yellow gold, I have a light toned grossular with both blue and yellow in it, and it looks more blue in yellow gold. I'm really glad I went with the yellow gold on it. There are pictures of it in my profile gallery.

 

[LembeckGems]

I agree with lady d. and your price is about right. if / when you can find one