Gems

Why have Mandarin Garnet, Tsavorite Garnet, and Mahenge Spinel Become so Expensive?

A couple of months ago, I saw a discussion on PriceScope about availability of Tsavorite and Mint Garnet, Mandarin and Spessartite Garnet, as well as Mahenge Spinel, all of which come from the same regions in Tanzania and Kenya.  As a vendor, I can’t post on PS – which is a good idea by the way – but the question was an interesting one so I want to post my two cents here on my blog.

 



Mint Garnet
As...
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Mandarin Garnet

I haven’t written much about Mandarin garnets because I don’t really like orange as a color, and so I’ve ignored this gem for a long time.  But now I think I didn’t do it justice.
Spessartite, the garnet group that Mandarin garnet falls under, has only been on the gemstone market for a little over 10 years. Although tiny amounts have been found in Germany, California, and Sri Lanka, among other...
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