So I finally purchased a Mahenge!

[virgoruby]

My Mahenge finallly arrived!
It''s a 3.67ct cushion (9.8 x 8.5 x 5.7)... though I got it at a great price due to its inclusions..
According to the vendor, "The gem would be considered as a top Mahenge spinel if it was not included. The inclusions are moderate under a fiber optic light (and visible with such a blown-up picture) but not that obvious otherwise. A non trained eye would not easily see the inclusions."

Well, my non-trained eye could see quite a bit of inclusions - probably because I''m so anally retentive - however, those inclusions do not detract from the overall beauty of the stone imo.

It has an amazing glowy reddish pink colour.

Pictures are taken indoors, by the window.
(Just noticed that it''s got a bit of fluff at the bottom right corner.. )

 

[virgoruby]

And another.

 

[virgoruby]

With tourmaline & spinel pear.

 

[virgoruby]

Last one. Thanks for looking.

 

[rosetta]

i love the color!

 

[T L]

Very nice. I don't know how long you've been collecting gems, but if you just started, those are great gems!! WOW!

Beautiful new Mahenge. It appears to be sleepy.

Did you get it from Swala?

 

[Upgradable]

It''s gorgeous!! I love the shape too. I''m glad to have another mahenge love declared. Mine should be arriving on Monday.

 

[cellentani]

Gorgeous color on the Mahenge, and I''m guessing that the inclusions will just make it glow all the more in sunlight! Nice tourmaline and spinel too!

 

[StonieGrl]

What a pretty pretty color and I love the shape.

I see what you mean about the inclusion but you know, when you have the ''truth'' about a gemstone and you make a decision, doesn''t mean you don''t love the stone or buy it. The spessie I bought at the Gem Show/Tucson has the inclusions typical of spessies but the color is the true Fanta Orange and it is a cushion, which I did not have a stone cut in that shape yet, so I fell in love nonetheless and bought the stone and am happy with the buy/price.

You''ll get a lot of enjoyment from your pretty Mahenge.

 

[brandy_z28]

That is a gorgeous mahenge!! It does look sleepy and I don''t think that''s a negative at all. I prefer sleepy mahenge''s!

 

[Laila619]

Gorgeous stone! I love all these Mahenges.

 

[chrono]

Gorgeous colour! I don’t see any inclusion at all other than the silk; is that what the vendor considered moderately included?

 

[mhovingh]

Pink is not my first choice for color when I look at stones but I can''t help but like that stone you have. Congratulations! I am really liking that spinel pear also.

 

[chrono]

Your powder blue spinel looks well coloured in this picture. Does it also have different personalities where it shifts?

 

[Barrett]

jusr from the pics you posted i don''t see anything that really detracts from the beauty of the stone..does seem sleepy..nice stone!!!

 

[oddoneout]

I like the colour. It looks like candy.

 

[Arkteia]

I agree. Gorgeous color.

 

[artdecogirl]

Very nice color and I love your blue pear also!

 

[virgoruby]

Thanks for the kind words, rosetta, TL, Uppy, cellentani, StonieGrl, brandy_z28, Laila619, Chrono, mhovingh, amethystguy, oddoneout, crasru and lcom!
The stone in my photos does appear sleepy, though the vendor told me that it was not really a sleepy stone.
Well, as a newbie, I am not sure what exactly constitutes 'sleepiness' in a stone.... though I do love this one.
I am really happy with the colour & the size, and the inclusions don't really bother me at all.. if it was an eye clean stone, it would have been a lot more $$$$$... (though one day I would like to own an eye clean 3+ct Mahenge... )

Uppy - Look forward to seeing pics of your new Mahenge!

TL - I've only started collecting coloured gemstones last year, when I stumbled across this forum... until then, I was one of those people who thought garnets only came in deep red and knew nothing about spinel, tourmaline, zircon etc etc.. I'm now trying to make up for lost (gem) years! I have to thank everyone here for generously giving advice to newbies like me!

Chrono - the blue spinel definitely has multiple personalities - it shifts to blue/purple depending on different lighting conditions; it also goes from powder blue to slightly darker blue, though I'm having difficulty capturing its colour (due to my crappy photography skills..). I'll take note of how it shifts colour & will let you know sometime.

Here is another pic, taken under incandescent light. (Sorry, didn't realise it was so huge!)

 

[virgoruby]

Here is a vendor pic. Sorry it's tiny...

ETA: The vendor (Eric at Swala) was extremely helpful, friendly & super quick to respond.

 

[colorluvr]

It''s a pretty color and a GREAT size!

I jumped on the Mahenge bandwagon, but in a small way. I got a cut little .98ct stone from Tan.

I know what you mean about getting into gem collecting only recently... I started kind of by accident by ordering stones that I thought would fit in a setting, only to find out they didn''t fit or I found one I liked better.... instead of returning them (unless they were really expensive), I just started keeping them and more recently I started buying stones just to have them in my collection.... It is quite addicting, isn''t it?

 

[Upgradable]

Wow!! Vigor, thanks for the back story on your presence here and on the stone. It was one of the stones I had an eye on earlier. It is absolutely stunning!!!

I can''t wait to hear what you have planned for it. And there''s no such thing as "too big" regarding photos. More, MORE, MORE!!!!

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Stunning stone, I love the sleepy effect, it gives it a nice "glow."

 

[sphenequeen]

That color is something else!

Can I just say that I love the color of all three of your stones?

GREAT eye!

 

[T L]

Date: 5/13/2010 6:35:10 PM
Author: virgoruby
Thanks for the kind words, rosetta, TL, Uppy, cellentani, StonieGrl, brandy_z28, Laila619, Chrono, mhovingh, amethystguy, oddoneout, crasru and lcom!
The stone in my photos does appear sleepy, though the vendor told me that it was not really a sleepy stone.
Well, as a newbie, I am not sure what exactly constitutes ''sleepiness'' in a stone.... though I do love this one.
I am really happy with the colour & the size, and the inclusions don''t really bother me at all.. if it was an eye clean stone, it would have been a lot more $$$$$... (though one day I would like to own an eye clean 3+ct Mahenge... )

Uppy - Look forward to seeing pics of your new Mahenge!

TL - I''ve only started collecting coloured gemstones last year, when I stumbled across this forum... until then, I was one of those people who thought garnets only came in deep red and knew nothing about spinel, tourmaline, zircon etc etc.. I''m now trying to make up for lost (gem) years! I have to thank everyone here for generously giving advice to newbies like me!

Chrono - the blue spinel definitely has multiple personalities - it shifts to blue/purple depending on different lighting conditions; it also goes from powder blue to slightly darker blue, though I''m having difficulty capturing its colour (due to my crappy photography skills..). I''ll take note of how it shifts colour & will let you know sometime.

Here is another pic, taken under incandescent light. (Sorry, didn''t realise it was so huge!)

Well, it looks like Pricescope has had a really positive experience on you because you''re not only getting fabulous gems, but at really good prices. Cudos to being a super smart shopper. I wish Pricescope was around when I was starting my gem collecting, but we didn''t even have the internet back then!! LOL!

 

[chictomato]

Date: 5/13/2010 2:07:05 PM
Author: virgoruby
Last one. Thanks for looking.

I like this pict, so cute! I love your blue spinel too! The Mahenge spinel looks quite different from the vendor's pict,its still looking good though. I like BIG stone

 

[Fly Girl]

Beautiful Mahenge spinel. The color is amazing, isn''t it? For sure I would never know about Mahenge spinel without PS, much less own one of these beauties.

Excellent choice, and a very nice size.

 

[Cind11]

Beautiful stone. It looks more red than Eric''s photo which looked hot pink. Does it ever look hot pink? The Mahenge I got from Swala even though small (1.3 cts.) looks frequently more red than pink. I would like another bigger stone but more toward pink than red.

 

[Arcadian]

Thats a great gem!!

-A

 

[Upgradable]

I''m admiring again. I LURV the pic with the mahenge in the center. The glowy, sleepy hot red/pink are glorious!