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Mandarin Garnet – Spessartite Flavor of the Month
The Earth tone variations of Spessartite have enjoyed years of well deserved recognition by gemstone connoisseurs but the last few years have seen them vying for attention alongside the bright orange soda pop color of the wildly popular Mandarin Garnet.
The orange or "Fanta" color standard for top end Spessartite dates from the discovery of pure orange Namibian material in the early 90's. The new material was so electrifying that it really altered many gem buyers traditional values regarding ideal hues for Spessartite. Previously, this garnets classic color was a hot ember typically seen in material from Madagascar or California, now we have Mandarin from Africa, the question is, will this trend last?
Like many gemstone discoveries the Namibian material was limited and the deposit had been pretty much played out by the late 90's but in 1998 another deposit in Nigeria was discovered and while this material was a bit redder than the Namibian shades it shared the same fire and depth of color.
In recent years Mandarins have begun to come out of Tanzania as well and while these share the same Fanta orange shades of the best Namibian material they have tended to be much more included, with many small crystals and fine needles, making it almost soft and fuzzy in appearance. Those in the market for Mandarin now will have to choose between Namibian clear fire red and Tanzanian soft bubbly soda pop - color or clarity, so far the market seems split in its opinion.
So are the $1000 price tags for large clear Mandarins here to stay? With the Asian markets purchasing as much of the deep saturated stones as they can, it would appear so. Eye-clean, top color 3 to 5 carat stones are bringing in $400 to $800 a carat and larger good stones are off the chart so it's probably best to purchase material now while good choices in finished stones are available. The price of Mandarin will only go higher when the current deposits are exhausted.
And if the eye-popping orange color of Mandarin is out of your price range or just not quite your cup of tea, there are still those traditional earth tones colors of Spessartite that deserve another look. Large clean and rich paprika or cinnamon color Spessartites are still available for $50 to $100 per carat and look wonderful with the wardrobe colors of fall.
Make sure you sample all flavors of Spessartite, you wont be disappointed.
For more information on Mandarin Garnets:
Mandarin Garnets
The orange or "Fanta" color standard for top end Spessartite dates from the discovery of pure orange Namibian material in the early 90's. The new material was so electrifying that it really altered many gem buyers traditional values regarding ideal hues for Spessartite. Previously, this garnets classic color was a hot ember typically seen in material from Madagascar or California, now we have Mandarin from Africa, the question is, will this trend last?
Like many gemstone discoveries the Namibian material was limited and the deposit had been pretty much played out by the late 90's but in 1998 another deposit in Nigeria was discovered and while this material was a bit redder than the Namibian shades it shared the same fire and depth of color.
In recent years Mandarins have begun to come out of Tanzania as well and while these share the same Fanta orange shades of the best Namibian material they have tended to be much more included, with many small crystals and fine needles, making it almost soft and fuzzy in appearance. Those in the market for Mandarin now will have to choose between Namibian clear fire red and Tanzanian soft bubbly soda pop - color or clarity, so far the market seems split in its opinion.
So are the $1000 price tags for large clear Mandarins here to stay? With the Asian markets purchasing as much of the deep saturated stones as they can, it would appear so. Eye-clean, top color 3 to 5 carat stones are bringing in $400 to $800 a carat and larger good stones are off the chart so it's probably best to purchase material now while good choices in finished stones are available. The price of Mandarin will only go higher when the current deposits are exhausted.
And if the eye-popping orange color of Mandarin is out of your price range or just not quite your cup of tea, there are still those traditional earth tones colors of Spessartite that deserve another look. Large clean and rich paprika or cinnamon color Spessartites are still available for $50 to $100 per carat and look wonderful with the wardrobe colors of fall.
Make sure you sample all flavors of Spessartite, you wont be disappointed.
For more information on Mandarin Garnets:
Mandarin Garnets
Submitted on: May 12, 2009 @ 4:55am
Wednesday 
