Opinions please

[JLW05]

Just picked up this Mahenge. It is 6.1mm. The stone maintains its color in all lighting conditions I could think of. The stone (to me) appears well saturated and nicely cut. Color is very hot pink. The spinel is "mine" for a few days until I make up my mind. Feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Kismet]

It looks flat out gorgeous to me. What are your reservations about it?

 

[athenaworth]

That color is pretty much perfect.

 

[chrono]

Looks good to me too. Any chance of a profile view just for kicks?

 

[JLW05]

I couldn't find anything wrong with the stone at all. It also flashes a bit of red under certain light. Truthfully, I think it is a bit nicer than another larger Mahenge I purchased a few months back. Just took the stone home to check it outdoors and in my home under differnet lighting and, since I am still getting my feet wet, I also wanted to hear from this group of knowledgeable folks I have learned a lot from these past few months.

 

[chrono]

If it holds it colour well as you said and fluorescences, I cannot think of a good reason not to keep it, short of it being over-priced.

 

[JLW05]

Chrono,
Stone is about 1.11. May I ask what you would consider a reasonable price range? I really don't have a frame of reference since most folks on the forum don't post prices and so many factors influence pricing.

 

[chrono]

Perhaps my pricing is behind the times but I purchased a hot pink Mahenge with fluoro and barely any orange colour shift indoors for around $500/ct 2 years ago.

 

[JLW05]

You haven't made my day as I paid significantly more than that. Sadly, I guess I am not very knowledgeable about pricing. The stone is actually a present for my daughter. I don't know if you remember but I had purchased another Mahenge for her but since it fit my pendant we made a deal that I would either find a tsavorite or buy her another Mahenge. She is very excited about this Mahenge so I will just have to feel aggravated and learn from this.

 

[GregS]

Bright! Very nice neony pink Spinel. I don't know how much you paid, but atleast you know you didn't over pay for a dud.

 

[T L]

I have no idea how much mahenges are going for these days, but it's a very nice hot pink color, and if it holds its color in all lighting, that's great. Unfortunately, since you won't state the price, I have no idea if its outrageously expensive. Maybe others can figure out what is a fair current price.

 

[cm366]

Looks lovely to me, but I think Chrono's pricing is quite optimistic for any retail setting. Looking at Mahenges for sale in the last year or so from the Gem Trader, a fairly reasonably priced site, I found stones of 1-2 carats for anywhere from 875-1250/ct, and all of these stones were snapped up in the first day or two they were for sale. That's not to say that members who have 'ins' with the trade or have a particular eye for bargains might not do better, but I think you'd be a long, long time looking for a nice Mahenge at $500/ct today, let alone one like Chrono's. Nice find!

http://www.thegemtrader.com/Feb13MSpinelPage.htm

http://www.thegemtrader.com/Sep12MSpinelPage.htm

http://www.thegemtrader.com/May12MSpinelPage.htm

 

[JLW05]

Since I paid toward the very bottom of your price estimate I'm feeling a bit better! I have looked at Swala for per carat estimates and their Mahenges were much lower than $875 ti $1250 per carat. Most of the stones listed on their website are marked as sold. However, when I was negotiating (never bought the stone) to buy a tsavorite from Swala, the price I was quoted for a stone not listed on their website was significantly higher per carat than almost any tsavorite I could find on their website (again most were designated as sold).

 

[dragonfly411]

Love it!!! What a vibrant color!

 

[JLW05]

Thank you. My daughter picked out a setting for the ring and if should be ready mid-July. I will post photos.

 

[JewelFreak]

Look forward to photos of it set. Great color & though the top-down pics are a little blurred, the sideways one shows nice cutting on the pavilion. I think you did well.

--- Laurie

 

[chrono]

$800/ct for a well saturated Mahenge spinel that is over 1 ct is still a good price, so I'd say you did well on this one. I know that prices have been creeping up steadily, hence my explanation that my guesstimate is 2 years off.

 

[JLW05]

I am estimating close to $875 a carat without doing the exact math, Chrono. It really is a lovely little stone and I am happy because my daughter is so excited and she is not a jewelry person (she's a handbag lover). I hope this is the beginning of a conversion process! My old UV light broke and so I just got a new inexpensive one and under this new cheap light the stone fluoresces an amazing red.

 

[Scarlett1]

Wow that colour is stunning. Makes me really want one