Merelani Mint - so many questions!

[Gracielouwho]

Hello all,

I'm attaching some pics of some merelani mint garnets that I bought. These are the first ones I've been able to see in-person. They appear very clear and sparkly to my eye. My first question is about color. These appear very pale pastel green in dim indoor lighting and a greenish blue in most other lights. Is this a desirable hue, tone, saturation, etc...? Is this what the classic merelani is supposed to look like? I've heard people say it shouldn't have yellow and I dont think this does but is it too pale? I am in the return window if need be for these gems.

I've had a seller approach me about buying mint grossular garnets from him which are not mined in the merelani hills. If it is all the same thing, why do merelani mint garnets go for more money than mint garnets mined elsewhere? Is there really no way to tell the difference between a mint garnet mined in the merelani hills vs. Mined somewhere else? If not, why are merelani mints so desirable? Will both types of garnets glow under blacklight?

Reading through the forum, I've read that it might be better to get my own rough and have a gem cutter cut it. Does anyone have any resources on how a beginner might tell what rough will make a good faceted stone (how to look at color, cracks, inclusions, etc.. )?

Thanks so much for any help or information you can provide!

 

[Gracielouwho]

Hello all,

I'm attaching some pics of some merelani mint garnets that I bought. These are the first ones I've been able to see in-person. They appear very clear and sparkly to my eye. My first question is about color. These appear very pale pastel green in dim indoor lighting and a greenish blue in most other lights. Is this a desirable hue, tone, saturation, etc...? Is this what the classic merelani is supposed to look like? I've heard people say it shouldn't have yellow and I dont think this does but is it too pale? I am in the return window if need be for these gems.

I've had a seller approach me about buying mint grossular garnets from him which are not mined in the merelani hills. If it is all the same thing, why do merelani mint garnets go for more money than mint garnets mined elsewhere? Is there really no way to tell the difference between a mint garnet mined in the merelani hills vs. Mined somewhere else? If not, why are merelani mints so desirable? Will both types of garnets glow under blacklight?

Reading through the forum, I've read that it might be better to get my own rough and have a gem cutter cut it. Does anyone have any resources on how a beginner might tell what rough will make a good faceted stone (how to look at color, cracks, inclusions, etc.. )?

Thanks so much for any help or information you can provide!

More Pics

 

[voce]

1.76 ct Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite Garnet

www.finewatergems.com

This is what I think of as the "classic" mint garnet look, maybe not the outdoor hand pic that looks saturated, but the color of the studio pic.

Yours, are too pale and not green enough to appeal to me. They appear as a rather pale blue on my monitor, but only you can judge the color accurately in person, as greens are not very easy to photograph.

The Merelani hills are in Tanzania, and the Tanzanian government has been trying to control and shut down mining operations in a number of places, so that would explain why the rough from there might be challenging to acquire.

Merelani mint is a type of green grossular, and it's definitely not the norm to have it glow under backlight. If the glow is too intense under the backlight, I may even suspect that it's synthetic! Although some mint garnet can be colored by vanadium, in a mint-colored gem with less saturation, I wouldn't expect it to be super glowy under backlight. There are a number of irradiated green simulants, so I'd be wary if A) they fluoresce under backlight/UV and B) you don't have a lab report from a reputable lab (GIA, AGL) that says it's natural, not synthetic.

 

[Gracielouwho]

1.76 ct Tsavorite Garnet

Tsavorite Garnet

www.finewatergems.com

This is what I think of as the "classic" mint garnet look, maybe not the outdoor hand pic that looks saturated, but the color of the studio pic.

Yours, are too pale and not green enough to appeal to me. They appear as a rather pale blue on my monitor, but only you can judge the color accurately in person, as greens are not very easy to photograph.

The Merelani hills are in Tanzania, and the Tanzanian government has been trying to control and shut down mining operations in a number of places, so that would explain why the rough from there might be challenging to acquire.

Merelani mint is a type of green grossular, and it's definitely not the norm to have it glow under backlight. If the glow is too intense under the backlight, I may even suspect that it's synthetic! Although some mint garnet can be colored by vanadium, in a mint-colored gem with less saturation, I wouldn't expect it to be super glowy under backlight. There are a number of irradiated green simulants, so I'd be wary if A) they fluoresce under backlight/UV and B) you don't have a lab report from a reputable lab (GIA, AGL) that says it's natural, not synthetic.

Thanks Voce,

These are slightly lighter than your picture and while they do throw the same color as your picture in some lights, in others you can see that it has a hint of blue (your pic appears mainly green). I havent tested this under blacklight but I've seen several sellers and forums discussing merelani mints glowing under blacklight and I was trying to figure out if they commonly glow under blacklight, or if they rarely glow under blacklight (but still possible and even ok), or if they dont glow under blacklight. I guess I'm just confused as to why sellers would use glowing under blacklight as a selling point if there isnt any value to it or it in fact could signify a fake.

 

[Niffler75]

Do these garnets contain trace amounts of chromium? I remember reading somewhere that they are fluorescent.

 

[voce]

I was wrong in the detail of what I remembered; vanadium is responsible for the color of most green grossular garnets, but it is chromium that causes UV fluorescence in garnets. Vanadium QUENCHES fluorescence in garnets, according to this source.

Ugrandite Garnets: Grossular Garnet

Among Grossular Garnets, green Tsavorite and orange Hessonite are the most familiar, but there are many other types of Grossular Garnets in a wide variety of colors.

www.gemstonemagnetism.com

What makes this somewhat confusing is that my melee sized Merelani mint garnets from Yvonne in my rings do not fluoresce using my pocket-sized UV LED light.

 

[Gracielouwho]

Do these garnets contain trace amounts of chromium? I remember reading somewhere that they are fluorescent.

I'm not sure but I think you're right about the chromium.

 

[Gracielouwho]

I was wrong in the detail of what I remembered; vanadium is responsible for the color of most green grossular garnets, but it is chromium that causes UV fluorescence in garnets. Vanadium QUENCHES fluorescence in garnets, according to this source.

Ugrandite Garnets: Grossular Garnet

Among Grossular Garnets, green Tsavorite and orange Hessonite are the most familiar, but there are many other types of Grossular Garnets in a wide variety of colors.

www.gemstonemagnetism.com

What makes this somewhat confusing is that my melee sized Merelani mint garnets from Yvonne in my rings do not fluoresce using my pocket-sized UV LED light.

Maybe it's just that some garnets have more chromium than others so some glow and some dont? Does that mean that some that do glow could still be fake? Is glowing under blacklight necessarily a good trait? The deeper I delve into the rabbit hole!

 

[JackTrick]

I had recently seen this comparison post of merelani mint rough and grossular rough.



And a couple (what I consider) fine examples:

World Class! Brilliant Merelani Mint Green Garnet Tanzania 5.67ct GLI - Litnon

GAR271 | JL White Fine Gemstones

3.84 ct. precision-cut mint garnet.

www.whitesgems.com

I love the light green blues of good merelani mint. Quite different from tsavorites and other grossular garnet. But remember, color is king. An amazing color outside of merelani is better than poor color from merelani.

I’d say you’re probably the best judge of yours. The color of the first image looked pale, but the second looked lovely.

 

[voce]

@JackTrick posts good information, but I disagree with the second to last paragraph. There are many varieties of grossular garnet, and there is no more blue in top class Merelani mint garnet than top class tsavorite. The best tsavorite is bluish green, only of a darker tone than the mint variety, which is just a lighter tone of the same variety.

Anyway, grossular garnet of any classification without yellow is very rare. It's not as though Merelani mint and tsavorite are different varieties, just different saturation. There are as many yellowish mint garnets as yellowish tsavorite garnets. Maybe bluish tsavorite is much, much rarer because it's more difficult for a more saturated stone to be without a yellow modifier, and more saturated stones are rarer in general.

Edit: example of fine tsavorite. No less bluish and not so different from that Merelani rough.

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[Nosean]

Merelani Mint glows under LW UV course it has a very low iron content. Colored by Vanadium.

Colorless grossular shows orange pink LW UV too.

@ Gracielouwho - your Merelani Mint look fine!

 

[chrono]

Here, we broach the personal preference vs budget again. There is no real standard but as always, the more expensive green gossular garnet should be slightly bluish green with intense saturation, that is of medium tone.

The stones you showed look well cut but the tone is so light as to be almost colourless in certain pictures. It should be priced a lot less due to that. My personal preference is medium toned, slightly bluish green, intense saturation aka just missed the tone bar set for tsavorite.

 

[JackTrick]

@JackTrick posts good information, but I disagree with the second to last paragraph. There are many varieties of grossular garnet, and there is no more blue in top class Merelani mint garnet than top class tsavorite. The best tsavorite is bluish green, only of a darker tone than the mint variety, which is just a lighter tone of the same variety.

Anyway, grossular garnet of any classification without yellow is very rare. It's not as though Merelani mint and tsavorite are different varieties, just different saturation. There are as many yellowish mint garnets as yellowish tsavorite garnets. Maybe bluish tsavorite is much, much rarer because it's more difficult for a more saturated stone to be without a yellow modifier, and more saturated stones are rarer in general.

Edit: example of fine tsavorite. No less bluish and not so different from that Merelani rough.

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

www.etsy.com

FIGHT ME.

Kidding kidding and actually, I think we still agree, but I was sloppy with my phrasing. The difference I meant to highlight was more the tone/lightness/darkness, not the blue green.

 

[lilmosun]

Here, we broach the personal preference vs budget again. There is no real standard but as always, the more expensive green gossular garnet should be slightly bluish green with intense saturation, that is of medium tone.

The stones you showed look well cut but the tone is so light as to be almost colourless in certain pictures. It should be priced a lot less due to that. My personal preference is medium toned, slightly bluish green, intense saturation aka just missed the tone bar set for tsavorite.

Agree with this. Since you are questioning these stones, I would return them unless they were really inexpensive.

Here is my mint Garnet. Under UV, it flouresces a pink-orange/yellow..not hot pink like the sapphires surrounding it (or one of the above pictures). It is one of a few stones where I live with the window because this color and size would otherwise been out of my budget (I got a great deal because it was bought preloved).

Buying your own rough and having it cut isn't that straight forward. It can be very rewarding but higher risk.

 

[Gracielouwho]

I had recently seen this comparison post of merelani mint rough and grossular rough.



And a couple (what I consider) fine examples:

World Class! Brilliant Merelani Mint Green Garnet Tanzania 5.67ct GLI - Litnon

GAR271 | JL White Fine Gemstones

3.84 ct. precision-cut mint garnet.

www.whitesgems.com

I love the light green blues of good merelani mint. Quite different from tsavorites and other grossular garnet. But remember, color is king. An amazing color outside of merelani is better than poor color from merelani.

I’d say you’re probably the best judge of yours. The color of the first image looked pale, but the second looked lovely.

Thank you JackTrick! Love the picture of the rough. My garnets do look pale indoors but beautiful in the other lights. Maybe just a touch to pale then. Would the correct term be not enough saturation or just light in color?

 

[Gracielouwho]

Merelani Mint glows under LW UV course it has a very low iron content. Colored by Vanadium.

Colorless grossular shows orange pink LW UV too.

@ Gracielouwho - your Merelani Mint look fine!

Thank you, do they each glow differently under lwuv? I've seen some advertisements from jewelry or gem tv stating that theirs glow under lwuv as well but I dont think they are merelani.

 

[Gracielouwho]

Agree with this. Since you are questioning these stones, I would return them unless they were really inexpensive.

Here is my mint Garnet. Under UV, it flouresces a pink-orange/yellow..not hot pink like the sapphires surrounding it (or one of the above pictures). It is one of a few stones where I live with the window because this color and size would otherwise been out of my budget (I got a great deal because it was bought preloved).

Buying your own rough and having it cut isn't that straight forward. It can be very rewarding but higher risk.

Thank you! What a beautiful stone!

 

[T L]

Agree with this. Since you are questioning these stones, I would return them unless they were really inexpensive.

Here is my mint Garnet. Under UV, it flouresces a pink-orange/yellow..not hot pink like the sapphires surrounding it (or one of the above pictures). It is one of a few stones where I live with the window because this color and size would otherwise been out of my budget (I got a great deal because it was bought preloved).

Buying your own rough and having it cut isn't that straight forward. It can be very rewarding but higher risk.

Gorgeous, and are those pink stones surrounding it?!! Love!!!!!!

 

[voce]

Gorgeous, and are those pink stones surrounding it?!! Love!!!!!!

That ring is gorgeous, but I see light purple, aka lavender, and no pink.

 

[Nosean]

Thank you, do they each glow differently under lwuv? I've seen some advertisements from jewelry or gem tv stating that theirs glow under lwuv as well but I dont think they are merelani.

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Some of my garnet under LW UV and incandescent light.

 

[Nick_G]

I do like green garnets particularly the minty green to emerald green varieties.

I have a big hunk of rock which is about 65% covered in many small demantoid crystals, many of which are a lovely minty green colour, a bit like Merelani mint garnet or light coloured tsavorite:



This specimen is from somewhere in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan. I had to adjust the colour to bring out the green, as for some reason the camera sees a more washed-out colour than my eyes do. This is probably because those crystals are colour-shifters, changing to a rich lime green under a CFL source.

 

[lilmosun]

Thanks @T L @voce @Gracielouwho

That ring is gorgeous, but I see light purple, aka lavender, and no pink.

You both are right isf. In my notes, I have it in my notes as pink-purple because I couldn't decide.

The stones shift between a strong lilac purple and a pure pink depending on the lighting. (Although sold to me as "lavender", I think of lavender having a stronger blue modifier).

I thought the picture I posted shows the purple side but perhaps it depends on your color sensitivity/perception (or the lighting of your screen/room )

 

[JackTrick]

Capturing gem color in photos: basically impossible

 

[SapphireNut1]

With the wall up around mererani getting your own rough of any significant size is going to be tough. What's available isnt generally first quality mint green.

You'd probably be better off finding a cut stone if you want anything over a carat.

I was able to buy a 9.5 carat merelani (rough) a few months ago. I'd have a far easier time selling it as rough, and get more for it. It came out of another cutters estate and it may end in my estate as well

 

[T L]

Moregems.com has a nice one.

Light Blue Green Oval Merelani Mint Garnet Gemstone 1.73 Carats

One 1.73 ct oval merelani mint garnet, lt blue green color, VS clarity, cut grade very good, measuring 6.1 mm wide, 8.6 mm long, 4.3 mm deep. The proportions of the merelani mint garnet are as follows: total depth 70.4%

www.moregems.com

Btw, he’s streaming live shows every Wednesday showcasing gems for sale. I find his prices reasonable and he precision facets many of the gems himself.

 

[Gracielouwho]

With the wall up around mererani getting your own rough of any significant size is going to be tough. What's available isnt generally first quality mint green.

You'd probably be better off finding a cut stone if you want anything over a carat.

I was able to buy a 9.5 carat merelani (rough) a few months ago. I'd have a far easier time selling it as rough, and get more for it. It came out of another cutters estate and it may end in my estate as well

I was hoping to get as many as 14 stones, each at around a carat. I'm beginning to wonder if this is entirely unrealistic.

 

[Gracielouwho]

Moregems.com has a nice one.

Light Blue Green Oval Merelani Mint Garnet Gemstone 1.73 Carats

One 1.73 ct oval merelani mint garnet, lt blue green color, VS clarity, cut grade very good, measuring 6.1 mm wide, 8.6 mm long, 4.3 mm deep. The proportions of the merelani mint garnet are as follows: total depth 70.4%

www.moregems.com

Btw, he’s streaming live shows every Wednesday showcasing gems for sale. I find his prices reasonable and he precision facets many of the gems himself.

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep an eye out. I was hoping to get 14 stones, all around 1 carat each but now I'm starting to wonder if this is unrealistic/ impossible.

 

[voce]

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep an eye out. I was hoping to get 14 stones, all around 1 carat each but now I'm starting to wonder if this is unrealistic/ impossible.

It depends on your budget and luck. Probably would need to ask a gem cutter to custom cut a set for you, as there's no way to match 14 stones at 1 ct, as they're far and few in between.

Alternative idea: what about prasiolite or peridot? Those are about the same durability as garnet, and are a lot more available thus cheaper. Prasiolite is more a minty color, and peridot has a bit of yellow in it.

 

[Gracielouwho]

It depends on your budget and luck. Probably would need to ask a gem cutter to custom cut a set for you, as there's no way to match 14 stones at 1 ct, as they're far and few in between.

Alternative idea: what about prasiolite or peridot? Those are about the same durability as garnet, and are a lot more available thus cheaper. Prasiolite is more a minty color, and peridot has a bit of yellow in it.

Thanks Voce, I'll check out prasiolite, peridot has too much yellow in it for what I have in mind. Do you know of any gem cutters I could query?

 

[Gracielouwho]

It depends on your budget and luck. Probably would need to ask a gem cutter to custom cut a set for you, as there's no way to match 14 stones at 1 ct, as they're far and few in between.

Alternative idea: what about prasiolite or peridot? Those are about the same durability as garnet, and are a lot more available thus cheaper. Prasiolite is more a minty color, and peridot has a bit of yellow in it.

I also thought about mint tourmaline but I'm not sure that's much easier ri get