Garnets have been known to man for over five thousand years. The spessartite garnet is the new kid on the block, only having been discovered during the 1800's in Spessart, Bavaria.
Until recent years spessartite garnet was not a gemstone that was well known except to gem collectors, and the price was prohibitive.
GARNET
In 1991 there was a deposit found in Namibia, a southern African country which borders Angola, and just before the year 2000 there was another very abundant find in Nigeria. These two finds have made this gemstone more readily available to all, and at a much more modest prices, but that may not last.
Mandarin spessartite is from the Namibia find and got it's name from it's brilliant orange color, Although the name is often misapplied to describe all spessartite. The Namibia discovery, although it produced beautiful gemstones, was not long lived.
The mines in Nigeria were much more productive, and produced gemstones in lighter tones. But after time even this area seems to have given up the best of it's supply. Most of the gems now being recovered are a lesser grade and are marketed as polished stones.
There is speculation that many investors are holding stocks of these gemstones from the earlier and more quality grades. Possibly in the near future, when current available supplies are depleted, they will release this spessartite garnet in the marketplace but at much higher prices.
Spessartite is a reasonably hard gemstone and is usually favored by an oval or emerald cut. There is no evidence that spessartite is enhanced. This gemstone is generally pretty free of inclusions.
Color is an important factor in evaluating garnets which come in colors other than the red attributed to the stone. This is the January birthstone and allows for a diversity of color choices. Garnets come in green, red, purple, pink, and the distinctive colors of the spessartite garnet. The spessartite garnet is unique in it's orange to red-orange coloration, especially the mandarine spessartite garnet which is a vivid orange.
Spessartite Garnet GARNET
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