Mahenge or Burma Spinel

[RTols88]

I'm looking for a 1.25-2.5 Ct Round Crimson Red Spinel. I'm wondering which location produces better stones. The best places to look for them. What price range is reasonable? And, if it is better to look in B&M stone dealers or on the Web?

 

[Barrett]

good luck trying to find a spinel at a [email protected] would be measley if they even had any at all..plus the fact you would be paying a 200% markup on the stone..go with a recommended vendor on Pricescope here

 

[Barrett]

or better yet..give it a day or two and the ladies here on PS will have linked you to plenty of good spinels..they sure do luv their spinels on here

 

[Harriet]

If you want a pure red, go with a Burmese. The Mahenges have pink in them.

 

[Barrett]

Harriet..no such thing as a pure red spinel..per Vincent Pardieu..in all his travels the world over and looking at his favorite stone which is spinel he has never ever seen a pure red spinel..read that on his website or somewhere..

 

[Harriet]

"Mogok red spinels can be found in many hues, tones and saturations from the lightest pink through orangy red (called flame spinels) and purplish red to pure red (sometimes called in the past ruby spinels)." V. Pardieu, "Spinel: Resurrection of a Classic"

 

[Barrett]

ha ha..tu che'..well on his blog or his website or whatever he said he has never seen a pure red spinel...hmmm..wonder if he can clarify that..a double negative

 

[RTols88]

Ok the attached image is the shade I'm looking for or something close to it

 

[VapidLapid]

on my screen that's a rather orangy red. I would think it not to matter so much where it comes from as long as you get the color you want. I think I've seen that color spinel at both ajs and wildfish recently

 

[Burberrygirl]

There's a pretty 1.96ct round on Spectral Gem's website, I think it's similar to the color you like too.

http://www.spectralgems.net/A-spinel.html

 

[RTols88]

That stone is a bit orangey for my taste. But thats close to what I'm looking for.

 

[T L]

I recently saw a Mahenge that color. It was from vancegems and precision cut and round. It had no brown. He said it was red, I told him it looked orangey red to me, but it was priced higher than his pinkish Mahenge spinels.

 

[chrono]

Neither location will produce a budget friendly cost for a red spinel. And as always, look for individual stones rather than making the presumption that one locale produces better material than the other because I have seen both duds and jaw dropping quality from both. Be prepared to pay a lot of money if you want to get something highly saturated (devoid of brown and gray) and eye clean. For Mahenges, you are more likely to get something pinkish because they only get truly red in sizes above 5 carats.

 

[brandy_z28]

I recently saw a Mahenge that color. It was from vancegems and precision cut and round. It had no brown. He said it was red, I told him it looked orangey red to me, but it was priced higher than his pinkish Mahenge spinels.

*drooling* sorry for the slight threadjack... Did you get to see it in person TL? *going to go check the Intergem schedule*

 

[brandy_z28]

Ignore location and just find a color you love.

 

[T L]

Chrono,
The stone I saw that was an orangey red, from Vancegems, was under five carats. However, I do know that they (Mahenge spinels) tend to be more red over four carats because the size increases the strength of saturation of pink, making it appear more red. I have a pinkish red Mahenge that tends to look more red in sunlight due to the UV fluorescence. UV fluor does give these stones a notch of saturation in sunlight if it is a good example. I have seen Mahenges with weak UV fluor, and their appearance indoors was more of a rhodolite garnet rather than the stronger saturation expected of these spinels.

 

[chrono]

TL,
I am in agreement; there are some Mahenges under 5 ct that can appear redder but those are far and few in between. Just like diamonds, I prefer to discount fluorescence when reviewing a stone in the sense that I look at the worse case scenario when shopping for one. So if it has red UV, then one needs to check it out indoors to be sure that it still looks good without the assistance of fluorescence. Of course, I definitely prefer my Mahenges to have red fluorescence and I know that there are also many Mahenges without this wonderful added bonus.

 

[StonieGrl]

I have two Burma red spinels and I love them. Tucson Gem Show this year, red spinel was flying out of that place.

Of course, all Burma red spinel was taken out of Burma WELL BEFORE the embargo, LOL, but of course.

I did note that the prices at Tucson were really high for the medium to good quality red spinel. I don't think they will go lower anytime in the future so if you want one might as well get it now.

 

[chrono]

Stonie,
I don’t think the embargo affects spinels, only rubies. However, you are correct that red spinel prices have been going up steadily and I’ve never seen it as high as today.

 

[LD]

...... and if you find a red spinel you MUST look at it in all lights.

I have one that's stoplight sensational red in incandescent light and ........ almost black in daylight. It's truly awful in daylight.