More yellow stones...this time its Mali Garnets

[Arcadian]

Still on the yellow stone kick. I swear I'm going to get me something in that color one by the years end!!

I ran across these mali garnets. I know that there's a lot of variation in color but I'm looking more toward the yellow end of the spectrum.

This one

And this one

I would run a search but well....we know how great the search function currently is If you'd be so kind to show your pictures it would be great!

-A

 

[chrono]

Are you getting one or both? The faceting on both are really pretty aka chunky. I don’t own one but it doesn’t mean I didn’t try. These bright sunny yellows are incredibly difficult to find.

 

[T L]

If they're from MC.com, just ask David a lot of questions. I bought a Mali with a very good GIA gem set, thinking I was going to get a nicely colored greeinish yellow gem, and it was brown. The color shift is more brown in some lighting and the MC.com photo was taken in the absolute best lighting, showing more of the colors above. Price is also a good indicator of the quality of what you'll get on MC.com in my experience. Mali's can really go brown.

 

[zeolite]

Not yellow, but both are Mali. Diamond cut: 2.95 cts

 

[zeolite]

Fan cut: 0.90 cts. The seller was positive this was from Mali, but refractive index said almost pure grossular; andradite content must be close to zero.

 

[zeolite]

Oh! I forgot! I have so many garnets, I can't remember what I have! 3.36 ct Mali, quite a large size for well cut Mali. This gem has incredible dispersion, the result of andradite content.

 

[zeolite]

While this looks like the same gem, it isn't. 0.97 ct grossular andradite, from Tanzania. So it has the same grossular - andradite content, but is not from Mali. The gem is brighter and more saturated than this picture shows.

I think GIA Research would be quite interested in testing this garnet. Why? Because to my knowledge, no grossular with high andradite content has been ever reported from East Africa. Secondly, most yellow grossular from Tanzania is light in tone and quite pastel, with some brown. This is quite unusual, with deeper tone, and with the most intense yellow color I've ever seen in any garnet, from anywhere.

It was purchased as a rough crystal, from a parcel of orange tourmalines. I actually suspected it was Canary yellow tourmaline, from eastern Zambia, near the Malawi border. The color looked right to be from that source.

After it was cut, I was congratulating myself on owning my first intense yellow Canary tourmaline. Ever the gemologist, I was examining it, and noticed the dispersion was much too high for tourmaline. I checked in the microscope, and saw no birefringence. It was clearly not a tourmaline. The refractive index, at 1.781, indicated grossular - andradite.

 

[Arcadian]

As always Mr Z those are some AMAZING colors!! The color just pops off the page!

Thanks TL, I'll do some asking. Right now its more me just looking (this week ) Its sorta looking like the greener you go the more you pay.

-A

 

[AustenNut]

Have you seen Lisa Elser's new catalogue? I haven't even finished perusing it, but there is a yellowy-gold Mali garnet in there, and I immediately thought of this thread. And when you tack on the PS discount...

 

[baby nurse]

Sorry, I have nothing productive to add but enthusiasm. I love Mali garnets! I don't own any but they're on my short list.

Best of luck

 

[Lovinggems]

Beautiful gems and excellent photography Mr Z.

Arc: Gene cut a beautiful Mail garnet recently that sold really quickly, if you wish you speak to him about getting one custom cut?

 

[chrono]

Zeolite,
Thanks for the wonderful eye candy! Where is the garnet in your first picture picking up the blue colour/flash from?

 

[zeolite]

Zeolite,
Thanks for the wonderful eye candy! Where is the garnet in your first picture picking up the blue colour/flash from?

The bottom 3 garnets may have been photographed in the evening, when there is no outside ambient light.

The blue color in the first (2.95 ct) Mali is not dispersion. It is late afternoon shaded ambient lighting coming into my photo setup. That bluish light bounces of off my black background and reflects through the first row of crown facets. That bluish light contrasts with the GE Reveal bulbs I use for warm color gemstone photography.

 

[AustenNut]

John Dyer also has some yellow Mali garnets if you're interested in them.

 

[AustenNut]

Wildfish has a "golden lemon" Mali garnet right now that' 2.225cts as well. Here's the link (can't figure out the PS2 linking ways): http://www.wildfishgems.com/inc/sdetail/8550

 

[Arcadian]

Thanks for pointing me in a few directions guys. I had been reading the the price of Mali garnets are starting to go up (pretty much like everything else, right?) So I wanted to see if I could find a really good one before that happens.

So lets talk ideal colors...whats the most ideal to the least since they tend to come in a lot of color combinations.


-A

 

[T L]

Thanks for pointing me in a few directions guys. I had been reading the the price of Mali garnets are starting to go up (pretty much like everything else, right?) So I wanted to see if I could find a really good one before that happens.

So lets talk ideal colors...whats the most ideal to the least since they tend to come in a lot of color combinations.


-A

I'm not a Mali expert, but one of the reasons I was searching for them at one time was because I wanted a neon greenish yellow or yellowish green stone. One of the reasons I went with chrysoberyl was because I was unable to find any Mali's online that had that neon color. I think Mali's are more subdued than that, but I could be wrong. I would say that you may want to avoid those that have too much brown in them or color shift to brown. Let it be either yellow or green, but try to avoid the brown, unless you like brown of course.

I think Rick of artcutgems.com has some Mali's as well.