The Kids were Young when We called the Sunsets Fanta-Orange.
When Such are the Sentiments to be Stored in a Stone,
What Better than the Shocking Marvel of an Orange Garnet?
I brought Fanta-Orange home to Contain the Moments.

Moments when Family was their Only World.
When Innocence, a Chance for Wonder.
When Laughter, a Note of Joy.
When Song, a Lack of Fear.

Fanta-Orange saw My Love drive me in Everything.
I Worked and Gave My All for Family.
Still could I have Done Better and Provided More?
Fanta-Orange says "Nay, One's Best is All Any Can Do."

Spessartite Garnet Gemstone Information

Spessartite is an orange to red-brown gemstone that belongs to the large and varied garnet species. The name, "spessartine" comes from the Bavarian word, "Spessart", meaning "forest", which is a mountain range in Germany where spessartine garnet deposits were found in the 1880s. Spessartite was not often seen in jewellery until deposits were mined in Namibia and Mozambique in the 1990s.

The spessartite garnet group includes the colour-change and malaya varieties.Colour-change garnet is extremely rare and is highly prized for its ability to change colour when viewed using differing light sources. Colour-change garnet is typically a hybrid of spessartite and pyrope garnet. Malaya garnet is another rare garnet variety that is gets its name from the Swahili word meaning "outcast" or "prostitute". This is because when malaya garnet was first discovered, it didn't fit into the accepted garnet categories and was therefore cast aside. Malaya garnets are interesting and unique colours, such as pinkish-orange, reddish-orange and yellowish-orange with scintillating flashes of red.

Spessartite Garnet Gemstone

Spessartite garnet deposits are found in Burma (Myanmar), Brazil, China, Kenya, Madagascar, Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Tanzania and the USA. The most desirable gemstones come from Naminia and are known as "mandarin spessartite".

Spessartite Garnet Colour

Spessartite garnet can range in colour from warm yellow to orange-red. The most desired colour for spessartite garnet is a reddish-orange, which is known as "aurora red" or "mandarin spessartite". This is a pure orange without brown tints.

Spessartite Garnet Clarity and Lustre

Spessartite garnet's high refractive index and vitreous lustre means that it has good brilliance. Spessartite garnet is transparent to translucent. "Eye clean" gemstones are quite rare for this variety of garnet.

Spessartite Garnet Cut and Shape

Translucent spessartite garnet is commonly cut en cabochon and transparent material is cut in a variety of faceted shapes.

Spessartite Garnet Treatment

Spessartite garnet is not known to be treated or enhanced in any way.

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What's Special about Spessartite? The garnet family of gemstones is large and varied, but spessartite garnet is no ordinary garnet. Spessartite is a brilliant gem that has a refractive index even higher than sapphire. In fact only zircon, sphene and diamond are higher on the refractive index scale. Garnet has always been highly regarded for its good hardness (7 to 7.5 on the Mohs scale) and excellent durability (it has indistinct cleavage). But the inexpensive everyday garnets -- almandine and pyrope -- tend to a dark red with a distinct brownish tone. Spessartite could not be more different. Its striking orange and orange-red color combined with tremendous brilliance make spessartite very special.

Spessartite is manganese aluminum silicate by composition, and it is manganese that gives it the remarkable orange color. Spessartite is among the small group of ideochromatic gems, which are colored by a fundamental element in their composition rather than by impurities. Some spessartite has traces of iron which result in a rich orange-red color that is highly regarded by spessartite connoisseurs. Prior to the 1990's, spessartite garnet was a rare collector's stone. That changed in 1991 when an important new find was made in northwestern Namibia. In 1999 a much larger discovery was made in Nigeria. More recently we have seen excellent material coming from Mozambique. Today spessartite is reasonably plentiful, but mining experts warn this is likely to be a temporary situation.

As the market becomes educated about the attractions of spessartite, it has become featured more in fine jewelry. The striking color and brilliance are sufficient to make spessartite very interesting. But when you consider that all spessartite is untreated, it has special value in a marketplace where even very expensive sapphires and rubies are routinely heat treated. Click to enlarge photo The Namibian spessartite is famous for its tangerine orange or "mandarin" color. The Namibian material tends to be included with many small crystals and needles. We are now seeing less and less Namibian material in the market. The Mozambique spessartite ranges from pure orange to orange-red and red-orange, with many very clean specimens. Some included material with excellent color is cut in very attractive cabochons. We have bought cabs as large as 50 carats. High quality clean red-orange spessartite can be found in weights up to 10 carats, but the mandarin orange tends to be found in smaller sizes.