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Spinel experts, please weigh in on this Mahenge:

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blingbunny10

Brilliant_Rock
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What is wrong with this stone? I think I like the color, but the clarity leaves something to be desired (though it's listed as VS) and this cut would not give me the brilliance I'd want.... Other than that I am too much of a newbie to opine. I'm tempted to buy this stone and would like to hear any criticisms of the stone from you experts! Lay it on me, please.

_3866.jpg
 
Can you post a larger photo please?

I'm not understanding why you think the clarity is off? It looks very clean (from what I can see).

If you only think you like the colour, are unsure of the clarity and are worried about the brilliance/cut, what is it that appeals to you?
 
LD|1361317130|3384809 said:
Can you post a larger photo please?

I'm not understanding why you think the clarity is off? It looks very clean (from what I can see).

If you only think you like the colour, are unsure of the clarity and are worried about the brilliance/cut, what is it that appeals to you?

LD - I think I like the color (not sure how it will look in person) and I have wanted a step cut stone, just not sure if that sort of defeats the purpose of seeking out Mahenge color/glow? I'm not sure if I'm making sense here.

Hope this larger pic loads....

spinellarge.png
 
Aaaaaaaah I see why the clarity was worrying you now.

Do inclusions bother you or do you like seeing nature's quirks? If you will find them distracting then unless this is super cheap it may not be for you. It also has a window that is quite noticeable because of the cut but would probably lessen on your hand.

I have a step cut Mahenge Spinel and you get broad flashes of light from it rather than sparkle. I'm not sure whether the cut on mine shows it off to its best advantage but I bought it for the colour and unusual cut so it was a bit of trade off over performance.
 
LD|1361317910|3384828 said:
Aaaaaaaah I see why the clarity was worrying you now.
Do inclusions bother you or do you like seeing nature's quirks? If you will find them distracting then unless this is super cheap it may not be for you. It also has a window that is quite noticeable because of the cut but would probably lessen on your hand.
Thanks LD - Well, in a step cut stone, I would not want the inclusions to be very noticeable. This is a smaller stone, though (1.25cts) so it matters less. It is listed at about $300/ct, thinking of making an offer close to that.

LD|1361317910|3384828 said:
I have a step cut Mahenge Spinel and you get broad flashes of light from it rather than sparkle. I'm not sure whether the cut on mine shows it off to its best advantage but I bought it for the colour and unusual cut so it was a bit of trade off over performance.
Hmmm do you mind if I ask whether you had it set? I'm looking at setting this one in a ring w/ side diamonds.... How would you rate the color of the spinel I posted? Not having seem many Mahenges in person, it's hard for me to gauge without anything real to compare it to!
 
blingbunny10|1361318406|3384839 said:
LD|1361317910|3384828 said:
Aaaaaaaah I see why the clarity was worrying you now.
Do inclusions bother you or do you like seeing nature's quirks? If you will find them distracting then unless this is super cheap it may not be for you. It also has a window that is quite noticeable because of the cut but would probably lessen on your hand.
Thanks LD - Well, in a step cut stone, I would not want the inclusions to be very noticeable. This is a smaller stone, though (1.25cts) so it matters less. It is listed at about $300/ct, thinking of making an offer close to that.

LD|1361317910|3384828 said:
I have a step cut Mahenge Spinel and you get broad flashes of light from it rather than sparkle. I'm not sure whether the cut on mine shows it off to its best advantage but I bought it for the colour and unusual cut so it was a bit of trade off over performance.
Hmmm do you mind if I ask whether you had it set? I'm looking at setting this one in a ring w/ side diamonds.... How would you rate the color of the spinel I posted? Not having seem many Mahenges in person, it's hard for me to gauge without anything real to compare it to!


Colour - I'm not the best with Mahenges I'm afraid but I'll tell you what I see (hopefully others will join and give you a much more comprehensive idea of the colour). There is no background to compare to so are we seeing the true colour? I suspect not. It has some red in the stone. I think it's a nice colour (no brown or orange) but I don't think it will have the glow that I think you're hoping to see? The price suggests that also. It's very very keenly priced. Can you ask for more photos? I'm guessing that this will be darker IRL.

Clarity - I think this would be more noticeable than you think. Step cuts are pretty unforgiving and you will probably notice the inclusions. I meant to mention before that it also has a bow tie. How is your tolerance level for them?

Size/setting - mine is 1.35ct so not much different to yours. Mine is more elongated though. I set it with graduated baguettes two on each side. It's a decent size ring but more because I made it a 5 stone ring. I think a 3 stone would have worked also. So your idea sounds good.
 
I contacted Prima for that stone last year, then somehow I gave it up, I guess it was too small for me, I remembered it was 6x5 ish?
 
I personally like the colour, but the cut and clarity might put me off, especially the combo. Like you, I find in step cuts, I want my stones as clean as possible, but in rounds or more brilliant cuts, inclusions don't bother me as much. If it's relatively easy to take a look at, without incurring too much expense in shipping costs or a restocking fee, then it might be worth a look, as the price is decent. If this is at the top end of your budget, it's a pretty good colour for the price, and you probably won't find one that's clean AND a strong colour (assuming it's nice IRL) AND a good cut for 300/ct or less.

I was wondering about the shadowing, which I see LD has piped in is a bow tie, so you have to consider that, too.
 
Mine is on my neck, so I don't see the inclusions very often, but it's highly included. The pic I've attached only has the ones that are closer to the table in focus.

This one looks like it's a nice color, but yeah, step cuts aren't forgiving when it comes to inclusions. And there is a window. BUT the material is getting harder to find, and more expensive. So...up to you.

strawberry_soda_mahenge_0.jpg
 
This stone has been discussed here before and there were larger photos that showed abrasion at the facet junctions on the table.

I like the color though.
 
The great thing about Primagems is that they will allow returns, so you can look at the stone in person and see if you like it.

It is next to impossible to tell the sparkle on a bright pink mahenge (IMHO) by a photo. I have a 2.22ct EC cut mahenge spinel that I got from them that is an EXCELLENT saturation/color that is quite included. I bought it to put in a pendent, so I don't care about the inclusions. If it wasn't included, it would have been twice as much (or more) than I paid because of the intense color.

This is a quicky photo I took the other day of the stone in a gem box through the glass, so the stone is even brighter than this photo (which I realize is lousy, but it gives you and idea). The stone next to it is a garnet that looks like fire embers IRL, but admittedly looks dead in this photo.

_3877.jpg
 
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