Mandarin garnet

Mandarin Garnet
Like fiery comets against the evening sky, the first mandarin garnets appeared in the gemstone trade a little over ten years ago.

Mandarin garnet
Gemology
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Mandarin garnet is a rare and valuable stone. Its true orange color is extremely attractive, if the stone is well cut.

Mandarin Garnet
Mandarin Garnet is an extremely rare variety of garnet, and very recent mineral discovery, having been first identified in 1991.

Enhancements
Mandarin garnet is not enhanced.
More information on gemstone enhancements.
Mandarin Garnet ...

Mandarin Garnet
The discovery of the iron-free, brilliant orange spessartite in Namibia in 1991 in commercial quantities created a sensation in the jewelry trade.

Most mandarin garnets from Namibia have a sleepy appearance. This is due to numerous small crystal and needle inclusions (above). Even in relatively clean stones, graining is often strong (below). Photos: Richard Hughes ...

In 1991 Mandarin garnets were discovered embedded in mica in northwest Namibia where the Kunene River borders Namibia and Angola. In 1994 new deposits were unearthed in southwest Nigeria.

It is called mandarin garnet because of its true orange color. A beautiful orange colored Spessartite garnet is found near Ramona in San Diego County, California, but this rare garnet has also been mined in Brazil and a few locations in Africa.

Jewelry designers are also reaching new creative heights this season in the world of orange, where a recent find of mandarin garnet has opened new doors. This stone is particularly brilliant and best emulates nature's orange.

Spessartites are orange and are often known as mandarin garnets. Among the varieties of green garnets are grossularite, demantoid, and tsavorite, which can be found in Mali, Tanzania, Russia, and Namibia.

Honorable Mention
Ashok Kumar Sancheti
Pioneer Gems
Pair of Mandarin Garnets (14.55 ctw.).

The name is a derivative of ‘Spessart’ in Bavaria. Orange - yellow spessartite is found in Madagascar and is sometimes called ‘Mandarin garnet’. Violet-red spessartites are found in Colorado and Maine.

It occurs most often in granite pegmatite and allied rock types and in certain low grade metamorphic phyllites. Spessartine of a beautiful orange-yellow is found in Madagascar (see Mandarin garnet).

Rhodolite, particularly in its reddish colors, and spessartite in its bright orange red, are more uncommon and therefore more valuable than pyrope and almandine. Spessartite is commonly called Mandarin garnet because in its best color it resembles ...

See also: Garnet, Stone, Color, Jewel, Gemstone