Mahenge Garnets

[chroman]

Yup -- Not Spinel this time!

I confess to being a big fan of this material. Earlier in the year, a new flavor of garnet colors started to appear, being referred to as Mahenge Garnets. They're not just a single color, but a very pretty range of colors. I'm fascinated by how well they all compliment each other. Much (if not all in the US?) of the rough seems to be coming through New Era Gems, and if like staring at rough, their facebook page can be a big time sink.

There have been a few PSs who have gotten ahold of these stones lately, so it seemed time for a thread on the subject.

But eye candy! Here's a few group shots from Steve Ulatowski's facebook page that show the color range of the material.




Gene has some more nice rough photos on a link off his 'What's New' page:
http://www.precisiongem.com/page4/WhatsNewTucson/

 

[chroman]

Since there isn't a ton of material in the market, there aren't a huge number of cut stones floating around. Many that I've come across have come from Gene, and there's a nice slide show of them here:
http://www.precisiongem.com/page4/whatsnew.php

The color range is really fascinating!

GemFix has a few listed under their Malaia section, and Yvonne has had one or two come by of the ligher peachy variety.

 

[chroman]

RoyalWe was looking for something in the range of Morganite for a ring:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/searching-for-the-stone.222747/

and ended up with a lovely mahenge garnet from Gemfix:

 

[chroman]

New Era had a recent sale on these garnets, and a few folks picked some up.

Venti25 found a trillion over in:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...show-us.118956/page-174#post-4048471#p4048471






And blingbunny10 found a pear and and oval:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...show-us.118956/page-172#post-4046780#p4046780

 

[chroman]

gingercurls posted a nice shot of two garnets from Gene at different ends of the color spectrum:
https://www.pricescope.com/communit...show-us.118956/page-174#post-4048530#p4048530



(If you google around, she also has a couple of interesting blog posts on the subject)

 

[chroman]

And one more..

A few months back I asked Gene if he had rough on the more saturated end of the color range that would cut a nice pair (It looks like he's not currently taking commissions, but he was at that point). He said he did, and a little while later this arrived in my inbox;



They're 6.1mm rounds. Literally the day after they arrived in the mail I had to run out of town for a mad travel romp, so I'm just now getting to post these more more photos. They are *so* sparkly -- I'm seeing red, blue/purple, and an occasional apricot-ish spark. I think the fact that I can't stop staring at them means they're a keeper!

In diffused light in the kitchen (mostly LED):


In diffused daylight indoors:


They do have an interesting color shift. In certain daylight, LED, and incandescent lights, they're well matched. In other daylight, one shifts to a paler color than the other. Not a big deal since they're meant for earrings, and it gives them interesting character -- Both colors are very pretty, so it's not like the color shift is bad.

In outdoor daylight:


In diffused daylight indoors:


I don't have a good photo under fluorescent ATM, but they have another interesting shift under that light. They're more pale peachy, but still not a bad color.

 

[lovedogs]

ohhhhh Chroman I'm LOVING those! I've also been on a garnet "kick" recently, and am really excited about all of the tones in them, red, purple, pink, etc. Love the diversity and personalities in all of them and it's exciting to see yours!

 

[GailRB]

Here is mine. A peach/salmon color, purchased from Precision Gem. It is 6.41 ct. and 9.72 x 7.85 mm.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I think these Magenge Garnets are one of the more exciting new stones I have seen in several years. All the different colors are really nice, and they go together really well. I am currently working on a set of 5 stones for a client that are all different colors, but look so well together.

 

[chroman]

lovedogs - thanks! I see more garnets in your future with all the color choices floating around.

GailRB - wow, great stone! Its such an interesting color - and huge! Any setting plans? I need to try and get a good photo, but under CFLs mine take on a peachy-salmon color, along the lines of yours. Do you see much shift in yours with different lighting?

It will be interesting to see where things go from here. There certainly seems to be a 'fan base' for these garnets. Curious if they grow in popularity, or if the material runs out

 

[Lisa Loves Shiny]

Thank you Chroman and GailRB for posting pictures of these lovelies! Such a nice eye candy treat. I love that these garnets range from rose red/purple to blush/peachy color.

 

[GailRB]

Hi chroman.

No, I do not see much color shifting. It is essentially a peach-salmon color garnet. The photo in my previous post was taken with my iPhone. Here is the photo of the stone that Gene (Precision Gem) sent to me:

 

[GailRB]

Ooops! I made a mistake in my first post when I stated the garnet's carat weight as "6.41 ct". It is 3.41 ct.

 

[PrecisionGem]

One of my customers mother passed away this year, and she was a Jauary (Garnet) birthstone. As a tribute, she had these 5 rings made, one for each her mother's daughters. All Mahenge garnet, all a bit different color.

 

[minousbijoux]

My problem with red/pink garnets generally speaking is that so many of them brown out in fluorescent lighting and these Mahenge garnets, judging by the photos (including Gene's) appear to do the same.

 

[mastercutgems]

Just a question;

I bought this type garnet from my contact in Tanzania over 7 years ago; back then they were called umbalite as they were from the Umba valley area. Is " Mahenge' garnet just a selling name like Lindi garnet, etc. ???

As I have indentical suits of this material and all of their RI's range from 1.735 to 1.76 +/- and I know the chemical makeup being close to Mg3Al2 (Si04)3. Plus they range in color from darker red-pink to a pastel peach, some even orange and orange pink which all make unusual but bright lovely gems.

I was just wondering as I have been hearing the name " Mahenge garnet" and just wondered if it was a new name for an older mineral that has been mined for a few years now ??? Or IF it was a new family of garnet ???

Most respectfully;

Dana Reynolds
ASG Certified
Supreme Master Gem Cuter
#96CGE42

 

[PrecisionGem]

Dana, these are not at all like the Umbalite Garnets. The Umbalite are really a Rhodolite from Umba that is a lighter color. These are closer to a Malya garnet but have more pyrope in them. The stones have a slight glow to them, nothing like the neon spinel from Mahenge, but more so than any other garnet I have seen.

As far a garnets 'browning out', I don't see it in these stones. The CFL bulbs have always created issues with most stones, and I personally don't use them in the house since the have such a screwed up spectrum, most things, including my self in the mirror don't look right! These Mahenge stones are very nice with LED light, natural daylight and go more toward the red tones in incandescent.

That picture with the 5 rings is not one I took, and is really bad quality. The stones in person are much nicer than they look in the picture.

Here is some rough with just daylight through the window, with LED light they get even more glow.

 

[minousbijoux]

Dana, these are not at all like the Umbalite Garnets. The Umbalite are really a Rhodolite from Umba that is a lighter color. These are closer to a Malya garnet but have more pyrope in them. The stones have a slight glow to them, nothing like the neon spinel from Mahenge, but more so than any other garnet I have seen.

As far a garnets 'browning out', I don't see it in these stones. The CFL bulbs have always created issues with most stones, and I personally don't use them in the house since the have such a screwed up spectrum, most things, including my self in the mirror don't look right! These Mahenge stones are very nice with LED light, natural daylight and go more toward the red tones in incandescent.

That picture with the 5 rings is not one I took, and is really bad quality. The stones in person are much nicer than they look in the picture.

Here is some rough with just daylight through the window, with LED light they get even more glow.

Thanks for that. Do you think its a function of the saturation level of these stones, or simply their mineral composition so that across the board, few or none will brown out in your opinion?

 

[PrecisionGem]

I guess we need to define what brown out means. If you look at the first picture in this thread, you see a large range of colors, some of which are kind of a peachy brown, others red pink, others are a purple/pink etc. Most every stone looses saturation when the light sorce changes, and CFL bulbs are touch on most stones except green stones.
But I have not seen any of these Mahenge garnets shift to muddy color like some of the typical red garnets do.

 

[chroman]

Here's a really terribly phone photo taken in haste under CFL, fwiw:



The color isn't quite spot on, and the darkness is thanks to my rush. I'd say that this pair tends to 'salmon out' under CFL. IRL the color is a little closer to GailRB's photo, but not as saturated as hers. There doesn't seem to be a big drop in tone/value with the light shift, but there is a hue and saturation shift. Its not a bad color imo by any means (just not the pinky/magenta of other light sources).

 

[mastercutgems]

Thanks Gene;

My friend in Tanzania just called them what they had been told to him and that was Umba due to its location as they really do not break it down into RI's, families, etc. Same way with the spinels I got from him over 15 years ago they were called Tunduru. Also with garnets from that location. They left it up to us to figure out the RI and family it belonged to. But I love the brighter light colors as they cut very brilliant gems.

Neato... I knew they were unusual back then and I love the little riverbed alluvial gems as they make it so much easier to cut and they have already had the heck beat out of them over 100's of years in the river so they are tough and have very little issues..
Keep on cutting those lovely little jewels Gene

Most Respectfully and Thankfully;

Dana Reynolds
ASG Certified
Supreme Master Gem Cutter
#96CGE42

 

[amyek]

Love this exchange. I am a die hard garnet fan and have learned so much from you all. Thanks especially Gene and Dana! XO. Amy.

 

[_lovesvintage_]

Hi chroman, you are my earring pair sister from Gene's stash! I remember asking him about your pair first, but you beat me to it. Glad a PSer has them. Thanks for showing them in all the different lighting and for starting this thread. I too am curious how the Mahenge garnets will play out. I originally posted Gene's stones in the catch all thread, but will include it here now. My pair are not exactly the same color either, one is slightly more pink than the other. I have each one as the main focus in each pair pic. They are very sparkly!

The pair from Gene at Precision Gem and then the trilliant cut from New Era Gems.

 

[GailRB]

This is the pair (6.4 mm) I purchased to go with the oval stone.

 

[neweragems]

Hello Everyone.

This thread came to my attention and I thought I would stop by and add a little bit more information. Steve Ulatowski recently did a small write up on this material, and here is a section of the write up.

"There has to be something very magical about the soil that these wonderful new Mahenge Garnets are found, as the dispersion that these gems show when cut in incredible. Tests have shown these to be a type Pyralspite Garnet, a mix of Pyrope, Almandite, and Spessartite. Some pieces even have small traces of Grossular Garnet also. The refractive index has tested out at 1.76 to 1.77.

These fabulous gems are found in several remote alluvial mining operations, in the Ulanga district, Morogoro Region, in Tanzania. The rush has been on, to find these fine gems, and there certainly seems to be a sort of “Gold Rush” happening there now. From the reports we have heard, the population has nearly doubled since the discovery of the incredible gem."

Also, I would love to say, I love seeing all the pictures being posted of this material. It is really a spectacular stone.

Robert Ulatowski

 

[chroman]

_lovesvintage_ - Thanks for reposting, I'd missed your earlier post of Gene's pair. They look so lovely!

GailRB - Yay! Another great looking pair! They're such a neat color of peachy-pink. I hope you post more pics when they arrive

Robert - Its interesting to hear more of the backstory on these stones. It sounds like they're getting some PS love lately

 

[chroman]

And here's the setting that RoyalWe chose:
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-garnet-e-ring-its-finally-done-pics.224531/

 

[GregS]

Dan Stair just finished up 2 Mahenge Garnets for me from some rough I sent him. Big one is 3.39 cts (9.58 rough) and the little one is 2.54 (8.10 rough). From the looks of the picture it looks like the little one came out better color and clarity wise, but I think I will be pleased with both. I don't have them in hand yet but I will post pictures of my own once they arrive.

 

[minousbijoux]

Dan Stair just finished up 2 Mahenge Garnets for me from some rough I sent him. Big one is 3.39 cts (9.58 rough) and the little one is 2.54 (8.10 rough). From the looks of the picture it looks like the little one came out better color and clarity wise, but I think I will be pleased with both. I don't have them in hand yet but I will post pictures of my own once they arrive.

They look so pretty from the pic, look forward to seeing more pics when you get them.

 

[SparkliesLuver]

Looks like Ryan has one too:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJtieA8D9Nw/?taken-by=quantzstudios