Spessartite or hessonite purchase, advice pls

[JennyK]

Hello all,

I am very new to the world of gemstones and have been learning lots here, although I do feel like my head is swimming a bit. I am hoping to purchase either a hessonite or spessartite garnet for a ring project(will be my first project and I have a clear idea what I want the end result to look like), but have a few questions.

Is there much advantage to either of these types of garnet over the other? I am most concerned with ending up with a stone with a very orange color. I want to try to avoid having brown in there. Am I best to assume I will be more likely to find this in a spess?

On the other hand, I need to stay within a budget, especially since this is sort of trial project for me. I''ve heard hessonite tends to be a bit cheaper.

I''m looking for something oval and just under 1c, which I know is small in the gemstone world, but I am not a fan of huge stones/rings on my small fingers. I would feel uncomfortable and not get the use out of it I want to.

So, one better than the other? Anything in particular I should look for when buying? I''d like a precision cut, not native cut as windows bother me, but that is about all I know. What sort of price should I expect to pay, and when looking at online photo''s should I assume the stone will be darker in person? Any recommendations on where to buy? I''ve looked through threads about PS vendors, and have idea''s where I should start.

Thanks! As soon as I narrow down the search I will post the ones I am considering, so all you more experienced gemstone buys can give me your comments.

 

[Fly Girl]

Hi Jenny - I think you have picked up on some of the trade-offs between spess and hessonite. Personally, I think the best compromise would be to see if Dana at Mastercut Gems still has any Loliondo spessartite. Fantastic orange color and a good price point. His stones are cut in their native Tanzania, however, without any windows. I found that the pictures were pretty spot on for color. You can''t assume that the stone will always be darker in person.

 

[Barrett]

go with a spess..many member here have them and adore them..like a little lavaball on your hand/neck..hess can be nice but it''s hard to beat a good spess..just ask TL
"hess vs. spess"..madison square garden...who will be the winner..sounds like a boxing match..LOL

 

[movie zombie]

spess first....then get a hess.

mz

 

[T L]

Well it really depends on the spess. Most spessartite are a root beer color, and IMO, not so pleasing to the eye. I think most people here are really talking about is a "Fanta" or "Mandarin" spess, which is a more pure orange or yellowish orange color, and probably what you're looking for. Some spessartites are a pleasing reddish orange as well. What you want to avoid with spessartite garnets are ones that are too yellowish, or too brownish, or a little of both. The more pure orange saturation, the more valuable and desired. Some yellowish orange spessartites are nice, and hail from Loliondo, Tanzania, but you want to make sure they're not so yellow, you see more yellow than orange.

Hessonite is not as desirable as a true fanta/mandarin spessartite garnet, but the latter is much more expensive in a clean and very saturated orange stone. IMO, in their finest qualities, they're quite breathtaking stones. However, for the size you're looking for, it should help to keep the cost down. They rise exponentially in price above three and four carats.

The three main sources for some of the finest quality orange spessartite are Nigeria, Tanzania and Namibia. The Namibian stones are supposedly mined out, but their color is legendary, albeit often included. The Nigerian stones, while cleaner, tend to be more on the red or brownish side, and the Tanzanian stones tend to be more on the yellowish side, and included as well. I believe some orange spessartite was mined somewhere in North America for a while too, but I cannot recall.

 

[Barrett]

california and maine both produce spess but not in enough quantities to make them viable

 

[platinumrock]

TL could not have compared the Namibian, Tanzanian and Nigerian spesses any better.

I purchased two spesses: one is a 2.79 from Tanzania and one is a 5.35 from Nigeria. Based on the pics, the one from Tanzania has more yellow and the one from Nigeria has more red. But the Nigerian spess is AIGS certified.

I should get them either Monday or Tuesday, so I''ll come back with a report.

 

[ma re]

Correct me if I''m wrong, but as I understand it, you''re not looking for a too strong of an orange, and don''t want it too brownish either? In that case you might even consider a hessonite, cause spessartites tend to have a very strongly saturated color. But I guess you''ll know once you browse some inventories of online vendors and notice the differences in color.

And another question, would you like to wear this ring a lot? Do you know that garnets are not exactly durable enough for constant wear? If you''d like to own it for a long time, in as good of a condition as possible, maybe you could consider some spinels, topazes (although that material can be hard to find), or maybe even sapphires. But if your heart is set on garnets, then that''s what you should get. Good luck in your search!