Cinderella spessartite driving me crazy

[mariedtiger]

Here's a new spessartite, supposedly Namibian, 3,36 carats in a scissor cut 10.35 x 5.64 x 4.91mm. It is driving me crazy. Often it is just a plain deep reddish garnet, or even brown, nothing special. But then I rock it a little and it flashes these wide neon orange bands of light. In sunlight it becomes a firebomb. It was very affordable and I fell in love with those flashes so I kept it.

Now I'm wondering if a recut can bring out more of that lovely orange that completely washes out my more mandarin orange spessartites in comparison? Or do I have to set it in some kind of a seesaw setting, lol?

 

[mariedtiger]

All pictures taken quickly in the evening, in incandescent light.

 

[innerkitten]

Nice stone! Some of those spessartites just have brown tones to them. Not sure if a recut would change that. Plus you would lose a lot of stone.

 

[chrono]

That’s just too huge a risk to me; a recut can also make the colour worse than the original.

 

[Michael_E]

Now I'm wondering if a recut can bring out more of that lovely orange that completely washes out my more mandarin orange spessartites in comparison? Or do I have to set it in some kind of a seesaw setting, lol?

A recut won't do anything to improve that stone, unfortunately. The nature of emerald cuts is that they have sides in which all of the facets are fairly close to being flat. This means that they will only reflect a single light source at one angle. The only thing that can be done to improve them is to view them in a different lighting arrangement where there are multiple light sources in different places in the room. The Holidays are a good time to wear these as there are often lots of lights surrounding you and so the stone will flash at many more angles. If you like this shape of stone and want better flash at more angles, then you should consider getting stones with a "Barion" cut or some variation of it. Some of the newer art cut styles, (concave or "V" notched), can be very attractive as well.

 

[T L]

Barion cuts on a rectangular stone drive me crazy. You get that half/half extinction thing going.

MT, Enjoy your new stone!

 

[mariedtiger]

Thankyou for your opinions all, I appreciate them!

Innerkitten: Thanks! I like this one

Chrono: Yeah that is true, Chrono, I've been lucky with my recuts until now, so I'm kind of foolhardy with this still. I wouldn't mind the weight at all, but the color getting worse I would definitely mind...

Michael_E: Thanks for chiming in, I was hoping someone who cuts stones would comment. Creative thinking with the holiday lights! It made me smile. I had a spessartite cut in a barion style once, but gave it away. It was one of my first stones. Spessartites and I have a tricky past, it's rarely love at first sight. This one has come closest, interestingly enough.

TL: Thanks for the enjoyment wishes, I definitely will. I'm learning a lot about my spessartite preferences from this stone. I actually prefer the deep&strong reddish orange to mandarin orange. Probably won't set it, though, but play with it since that is very enjoable with this one. Usually I like my stones much more when they are set, but this one is fun like it is.

 

[chictomato]

Pretty I love this shape too! Makes me think of burning amber. A description I came by on Dana's site.

 

[iLander]

Just make it a pendant!

That way it will shimmer and flash as you move and the effect will work for you instead of against you.

It will be an eye-catcher and I'll bet people will comment on it all day long.

 

[iLander]

I like it, what's not to like? It's bright, it's lively, it's unusual, fab color and shimmery cut.

What's not to like?

Just make it a pendant!

That way it will shimmer and flash as you move and the effect will work for you instead of against you.

It will be an eye-catcher and I'll bet people will comment on it all day long.

Work with it, not against it, grasshopper . . .

 

[Arcadian]

Hi MT, Considering I'm familiar with the seller of the stone and have purchased from them quite a bit, Its no doubt nambian. They're very honest about their stuff.

I'm on my laptop (I'm traveling) so the color is a bit browner on this screen, but as far as the cut to make it less brown, there's maybe not much you can do about it. I also have a stone that does as you describe. gorgeous fireball in some lights, not so great in others. I think it would make a great pendant in yellow gold to get the best out of it.


-A

 

[mariedtiger]

Pretty I love this shape too! Makes me think of burning amber. A description I came by on Dana's site.

Thanks chictomato, burning ember is exactly my thought as well

 

[mariedtiger]

I like it, what's not to like? It's bright, it's lively, it's unusual, fab color and shimmery cut.

What's not to like?

Just make it a pendant!

That way it will shimmer and flash as you move and the effect will work for you instead of against you.

It will be an eye-catcher and I'll bet people will comment on it all day long.

Work with it, not against it, grasshopper . . .

Pendant or then a rebellious earring was what I thought, hope I don't blind someone with the glare if I happen to be in the sun, lol. You know, iLander, I appreciate your comment "what's not to like?" Thanks!

 

[mariedtiger]

Hi MT, Considering I'm familiar with the seller of the stone and have purchased from them quite a bit, Its no doubt nambian. They're very honest about their stuff.

I'm on my laptop (I'm traveling) so the color is a bit browner on this screen, but as far as the cut to make it less brown, there's maybe not much you can do about it. I also have a stone that does as you describe. gorgeous fireball in some lights, not so great in others. I think it would make a great pendant in yellow gold to get the best out of it.


-A

Hi A,

I appreciate your comment on the seller. They are new to me and were very professional, fast and great people, but I had no references to them, so therefore I was cautious with my comments. Good to know that you've bought from them as well. Thanks for sharing

Yeah, I love the fireball look of this one. And then it's like someone turns off the lights. Oh well.

 

[blithesome71]

Very cute spess. It'll definitely look more beautiful as a pendant... I also bought my namibian spess (w/ cert.) from this seller & yeah, she's very honest and sell good stuff at affordable price.

Here's my spess from the same seller:


Congrats on your purchase!

 

[mochi]

I love the color of the new spess. Isn't it amazing the different variations of 'orange' that we can get (not only orange, of course)? I also have a few spess and love to lay them next to each other and just see the difference in the color...

 

[chrono]

Off the beaten track here, but do these Namabian show the expected inclusions typical to the area? I'm suspicious of all these Namabian spessartites cropping up often when the mines were closed years ago. Huge and very clean too, no less, which is the opposite of what the mines typically produced.

 

[minousbijoux]

Not really a threadjack, more like a thread detour or hiccup, but I agree with Chrono, there sure seems like there is a lot of "Namibian" going around. I recently had an interesting correspondence with a vendor over some spessartite. When I asked whether they would certify it as Namibian since they were stating it was, the answer was that while they would certify it as natural they would not certify origin and suggested I send it to GIA after purchase. Its a catch-22 for the buyer and seller - if the seller knows the provenance of the stone, then they are confident of its origin and won't expend the $$ on a cert. On the buyer end, you don't really want to shell out the $$ for the stone hoping it will prove to be Namibian...

 

[desertgem]

I really like spessartite garnet also, but have always gone for color and clarity, and have had little concern with origin, whether is is Namibian, Afghanistani/Pakistani, or Nigerian. So could someone tell me why origin might make a difference in one's purchase? Not being contrary, but even Spessartite in the same country could have different manganese and iron ratios( and thus different color and even different inclusions , or lack thereof).

jim

 

[mariedtiger]

Very cute spess. It'll definitely look more beautiful as a pendant... I also bought my namibian spess (w/ cert.) from this seller & yeah, she's very honest and sell good stuff at affordable price.

Here's my spess from the same seller:


Congrats on your purchase!

Very cool stone you have there blithesome!

 

[mariedtiger]

I love the color of the new spess. Isn't it amazing the different variations of 'orange' that we can get (not only orange, of course)? I also have a few spess and love to lay them next to each other and just see the difference in the color...

Mochi, I love the color too! I notice right now that I really enjoy collecting the same species of stone in slightly varying nuances of the same color. I do the same with spinels right now.

 

[mariedtiger]

Off the beaten track here, but do these Namabian show the expected inclusions typical to the area? I'm suspicious of all these Namabian spessartites cropping up often when the mines were closed years ago. Huge and very clean too, no less, which is the opposite of what the mines typically produced.

Chrono, this is the reason why I stated "supposedly Namibian", actually. I have no way of knowing if it is indeed Namibian except sending it to a lab to have it checked out. This one was very affordable and I bought it because of the color, not origin. My spess is eye clean +, the cleanest I own. But when I loupe it it has the same kind of inclusions as my other garnets. This is as far as my gem knowledge goes at this time

 

[mariedtiger]

Not really a threadjack, more like a thread detour or hiccup, but I agree with Chrono, there sure seems like there is a lot of "Namibian" going around. I recently had an interesting correspondence with a vendor over some spessartite. When I asked whether they would certify it as Namibian since they were stating it was, the answer was that while they would certify it as natural they would not certify origin and suggested I send it to GIA after purchase. Its a catch-22 for the buyer and seller - if the seller knows the provenance of the stone, then they are confident of its origin and won't expend the $$ on a cert. On the buyer end, you don't really want to shell out the $$ for the stone hoping it will prove to be Namibian...

I agree, I would not pay a premium for a Namibian stone without a gem report that includes origin.

 

[mariedtiger]

I really like spessartite garnet also, but have always gone for color and clarity, and have had little concern with origin, whether is is Namibian, Afghanistani/Pakistani, or Nigerian. So could someone tell me why origin might make a difference in one's purchase? Not being contrary, but even Spessartite in the same country could have different manganese and iron ratios( and thus different color and even different inclusions , or lack thereof).

jim

I hope others chime in here, but personally I am interested in Namibian stones because I hear they often have great color and I'm curious about that. Other than that I don't particularly care about origin.

 

[chrono]

MT,
I, too, am in the process of acquiring a supposedly Namibian spessartite myself so it’s something I’ll never be sure of, short of sending it to a lab as well. I totally understand where you are coming from because this particular stone has very good colour, plus is well priced. If it is truly Namibian (it is of old stock so the possibility is there but who knows), great. If not, I’m not fussed by it either because I am buying for colour. As of this point, I have no idea about the clarity.

I know that the Loliondo spessartites have a distinctive colour (bright yellowish orange) and inclusions (sugars which are bubble like). The Nigerian (I’m generalizing here) spessartites are very clean and usually range from the light and bright (sometimes sort of brownish) to the deep reddish orange. Namibia is renowned for the “mandarin” orange colour and typically quite small. They also often have small colourless fibers of tirodite which in small quantities, give the spessartite a slightly sleepy appearance where it masks extinction and allows the colour to be evenly distributed across the crown, much like the silky Kashmiri sapphire. Most however are very heavily included

Jim,
We understand that just like Kashmir sapphires, there are great ones and yucky ones, so origin doesn’t guarantee the finest quality gem. But as you already know, some places are well known for producing some of the finest quality gem of a particular species, hence the commonly known Burma ruby, Kashmir sapphire, Brazilian paraiba, Burma red spinel, Russian demantoid, and etc and Namibia is well known for producing some of the finest spessartites.

 

[mariedtiger]

MT,
I, too, am in the process of acquiring a supposedly Namibian spessartite myself so it’s something I’ll never be sure of, short of sending it to a lab as well. I totally understand where you are coming from because this particular stone has very good colour, plus is well priced. If it is truly Namibian (it is of old stock so the possibility is there but who knows), great. If not, I’m not fussed by it either because I am buying for colour. As of this point, I have no idea about the clarity.

Chrono, we think alike on this Keeping my fingers crossed that your gem is a winner!

Edited to add, thanks Chrono, for taking time to write about inclusions and making this an informative thread