Mint garnet vs Mint Tourmaline

[MakingTheGrade]

Pros and Cons of each? Which would you prefer?

I''m trying to find a 6.5 asscher/sq cut emerald for a setting, and right now I''m leaning towards a mint garnet...but the minty colors on those recent Afgani tourmalines look mighty nice too... And tourmalines are a bit sturdier than garnet, but garnet has the higher RI and I do love the luster...

Anyone have any photos of both?

 

[VapidLapid]

I would like them both! I would expect the garnet to be sparklier.
Roger Derry has excellent examples of each available right now, wholesale so you''d need to go through jeweler. I was reluctant to share that but I''ve spent so much lately I can''t justify another stone.

http://www.spectralgems.net/

 

[Michael_E]

Date: 5/8/2010 6:47:03 PM
Author:MakingTheGrade
And tourmalines are a bit sturdier than garnet, but garnet has the higher RI and I do love the luster...

Garnet is a bit tougher than tourmaline in general. It is also the same color in every direction, whereas most tourmaline is dichroic with one direction showing better color than the other. The R.I. is a BIG deal with the cut style you prefer, with higher R.I. stones having much better light performance than lower R.I. stones. If you can find the color you want in a garnet, then I would recommend the garnet.

 

[Indylady]

I love tourmaline and garnet for slightly different reasons.

If you''re after a color; that bright, glowy, minty green, then definitely tourmaline. I love BEG''s JW blue/green tourmaline.

If you want color, but also sparkle, then I''d go for garnet.

 

[Barrett]

gotta hate these hard decisions, ya know..lol..sigh..if these were the hardest decisions we had to make.... life would be goooood
let us know when you have decided..I for one would love to know

 

[marcy]

Since I tend to like the sparkle of gems I prefer garnets over tourmaline. While the colors can be great in both of them I personally find garnets to be livelier gemstones.

 

[Indylady]

Would you take an oval? Here''s a minty beryl link.

 

[T L]

Date: 5/8/2010 6:47:03 PM
Author:MakingTheGrade
Pros and Cons of each? Which would you prefer?

I'm trying to find a 6.5 asscher/sq cut emerald for a setting, and right now I'm leaning towards a mint garnet...but the minty colors on those recent Afgani tourmalines look mighty nice too... And tourmalines are a bit sturdier than garnet, but garnet has the higher RI and I do love the luster...

Anyone have any photos of both?

I consider mint to be light to medium light toned slightly bluish green. 99% of the mint garnets you see are really lighter toned yellowish green, but sold as mint, which to me, isn't correct. My favorite mint tourmalines hail from Afghanistan, but due to turmoil in that region, it's difficult to come by. I recently cut my Afghan mint tourmaline with a high crown, small table, and lots of faceting, so it sparkles like a true merelani mint garnet. Again both stones in true mint color are difficult to come by, especially in a specialty cut.

 

[MakingTheGrade]

I know TL. Yellow is the kiss of death in terms of mintiness. Haha.
I know some cutters who still have a few pieces of mint tourm or garnet rough left. I''m in the process of getting dimensions and price quotes and photos and etc. I''m pursuing the garnet option a bit more aggressively at the moment though since I''m a sucker for garnets!

 

[T L]

Date: 5/8/2010 9:18:25 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
I know TL. Yellow is the kiss of death in terms of mintiness. Haha.
I know some cutters who still have a few pieces of mint tourm or garnet rough left. I'm in the process of getting dimensions and price quotes and photos and etc. I'm pursuing the garnet option a bit more aggressively at the moment though since I'm a sucker for garnets!

If I had to choose between a fine mint garnet and mint tourmaline, color, size, cutting, clarity, all being equal, I would go with the garnet for it's higher RI and it's slightly more durable than tourmaline. Yellowish green isn't horrible, and I think some can be pretty, but I don't think they should be sold as mint color. There is a premium for the blue tint in the green over yellow, so when I think mint, I think of that, and a higher pricetag as well. I think some people try to sell light yellowish green tsavorites as mint color and charge a premium, and to me, that is wrong.

If you want a lot of blue in your mint verging on seafoam color (yes, I know, what is seafoam??), then you might need to go with a tourmaline since mint merelanis never get that blue.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Date: 5/8/2010 7:46:21 PM
Author: Michael_E

Date: 5/8/2010 6:47:03 PM
Author:MakingTheGrade
And tourmalines are a bit sturdier than garnet, but garnet has the higher RI and I do love the luster...

Garnet is a bit tougher than tourmaline in general. It is also the same color in every direction, whereas most tourmaline is dichroic with one direction showing better color than the other. The R.I. is a BIG deal with the cut style you prefer, with higher R.I. stones having much better light performance than lower R.I. stones. If you can find the color you want in a garnet, then I would recommend the garnet.

Very cool information! TFS!

I would go for Garnet if you can get the color you want. ''Cause it''s my birthstone! Oh and because of everything Michael E posted above.

 

[chrono]

I’d go with a garnet over a tourmaline if given the choice for the reasons mentioned (higher RI, no dichroism, a touch more durable, etc).

 

[jstarfireb]

Probably garnet for an Asscher if I had the choice (for Michael''s reasons), but tourmaline for other cut styles since I love the blue-green color!