Is there a single museum in the US featuring good Mahenges?

[Arkteia]

Simple question. All vendors' pictures, all PS-ers pictures simply can not fully represent the stone, because of its fluorescence which gives it the glow. Maybe there is a wonderful stone which is orange-red, maybe there is a great stone which is mostly pink but very saturated, perfect stones do not necessarily have colors that are "by the book". But the more I look at the pictures, the more I realize that I have no clue what a good stone is. My jeweler saw my first 1.6 ct Mahenge which I bought from Tan and said it was a very good stone, but it was 1.64 ct and as such, more reddish-pink although now I see what my jeweler means. But the stone is small, and top colors usually come in larger sizes.

So here is the question. Is there any "perfect" stone in any US museum? Or are they so new that they all go to private collections?

Does Smithsonian have them?

 

[Art Nouveau]

Re: Is there a single museum in the US featuring good Maheng

I met Jeffrey Post, curator of the Smithsonian gem collection last fall at a jewelry event and had a conversation with him about Mahenge spinels. At that time, he said the Smithsonian did not have a Mahenge spinel yet and he wished someone would donate one.

 

[LD]

Re: Is there a single museum in the US featuring good Maheng

Crasru I don't think many museums will have newer stones/finds in their collection. You're more likely to see better examples on here which I know means we're limited to photos but in all honesty I've been to museums and thought some (not all of course) of the gemstones were not the best I'd seen.

 

[chrono]

Re: Is there a single museum in the US featuring good Maheng

I am afraid I've not seen any Mahenges in any museums. Many gemstones are on loan or have been donated. Mahenges are relatively new, thus perhaps that could be the reason?

 

[T L]

Re: Is there a single museum in the US featuring good Maheng

I think you would have a better chance at seeing some decent ones at a large gem show, if there's still any good material left.

 

[MieleMelograno]

Re: Is there a single museum in the US featuring good Maheng

You won't find any in Museums yet. However if you could ever afford to go to Tuscon or Las Vegas gem shows there are many museum worthy pieces on display! There is even a Denver gem show coming up in October I think.

 

[Arkteia]

Re: Is there a single museum in the US featuring good Maheng

I can afford money-wise, not always time-wise but it is worth trying. I heard Denver show features mostly rocks and minerals (which, is very interesting, but I feel so inferior to real gemologists!)