Can you please help me find a spessartite?

[pierreone]

I have a dear friend who is moving away in two months and I want to get a special good-bye gift. I read that garnets were an ancient symbol of friendship and that in the past they were exchanged between parting friends to symbolize affection and ensure that they would one day meet again. She likes gems and since her favorite color is orange, I'm trying to find a spessartite.

I'm a complete spessartite novice and don't know how to read vendor pics. Would you be so kind as to look at these possible stones and let me know what you think, or suggest others that I haven't listed?

I don't need this to be the top-of-the-line color, but I do want a nice orange with as little brown as possible. I'm okay with a bit of red, but don't want it to be too yellow. I'm open on the cut, but would like to avoid pears, hearts, or other hard-to-set fancy shapes. My max budget is $1,000.

Gemfix - looking at 232, 229, 226, and 215
GemRite spess - will this be too yellow?
JeffDvs101 on ebay - any of these?
Odysseygem trillion

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[VapidLapid]

I think those are all very brown.

What so you think of this one?
http://www.litnon.com/index.php?page=viewgem&id=9452

 

[chrono]

Gemfix,
All are too brown but I would request for a handshot of 226 as I think it might look nicer in person.

Gemrite
Ocher (yellow brown) coloured.

Jeff Davies
They all look brownish yellow as well.

Tan
Could be all right but it will have some brown, just not as much as the above two.

 

[pierreone]

VapidLapid - thanks for the link. It's pretty, just a little smaller than I was hoping for. I guess the plus is that it's under budget.

Chrono - thanks for your take on the stones. I have a hard time judging pics, so it was helpful to read the descriptions of what you're seeing.

 

[blithesome71]

Hmmm... Perhaps this'll fit the bill: http://thegemtrader.com/Jan 09 Spessartite Page.htm

 

[GregS]

On Rough 2 Refined, nice color from what I can tell. I think the inclusions will give it a nice glow. Not sure about the apparent bow tie though and I'd ask about what appears to be a chip on the lower right, probably just the rock the stone was placed on though.



http://rough2refinedgemstones.com/?page_id=2078

 

[pierreone]

blithesome72 — thanks for the link. Actually, this was one of the first stones I looked in to. I ordered it, but it was just a bit too brown for me IRL and it had that oval half-and-half thing, so I returned it.

GregS — that looks pretty, thanks. I've contacted Rough 2 Refined with some questions.

I just received a spess from GemCal that I'm thinking about keeping. It does have a little brown in certain lighting, but in most cases it's a pretty color and it looks fantastic in low light. The trillion cut is great, it's a big size, and it was under my budget. Here are a couple pics, although I know I haven't captured the color correctly. I'm open to opinions.

 

[chrono]

If you cannot show the colour accurately, there is little others can comment on. If you are happy with what you see under most lighting conditions, then it is likely to be the right one for you.

 

[K9]

I know you said your budget is $1k, but if you can flex it even a little, I'd suggest looking at Athena's spess listed on the bistro.

http://diamondbistro.com/category/2...ngs/33400/Gene-Nigerian-Spess-in-18kt-WG.html