Here's a new garnet, form a small parcel I bought in Tanzania. These were very different from any other garnet I have had. The color is a lighter pink with lavender, and has a softness to it. The shapes of the stones were add, and there were not many, nor very large, but I couldn't pass on the color.
I'm not sure how to classify the stone, the Refractive index is 1.738, which would indicate pyrope, but the color is too light and pink. The spectra is similar to Almandine, but then the RI is too low. Tanzania is know for many type of garnets, and mixes of them, and this is another odd one.

Tags: Garnet

This will be the last Garnet for the month of January. It’s one of the new Malaya garnets I picked up 2 weeks ago from Tanzania. This one is cut in my “Precision Gem 80 Star” round shape. Perfect color and cut. (That little orange spot on the top is just a reflection.)



This next one is one of the Nigerian Paraiba type Tourmalines. Right now it’s in the oven being heated. All of these Paraiba type stones will be shipped to R.W. Wise Goldsmiths, so if you are interested in one you can contact Richard. This way you will get Richard’s expert evaluation and grading on the stone. The stone is over 4 cts. and is cut in an opposed bar design. Look for it on Richard’s site in the next few weeks.

Tags: Garnet

I felt like cutting something fun, and wanted to keep with the garnets for a few more days. This is a new frosted star design I worked out, and this Umbalite Garnet was the perfect shaped stone for it. This one weighs 3.39 cts. and measures 8.82 mm. It’s a real bugger to photograph, it looks much nicer in person, and does have a lot of flash. All the white specs are dust, the stone is loop clean.



A small parcel of Mali Garnets arrived yesterday, and I just had to cut one. If you have never seen one of these in person, they look like yellow/green diamonds. The Mali Garnet has a tremendous amount of dispersion. This first one is 1.59 ct. and measures 7.09 mm.

Tags: Garnet

What better way to end out January than with a few Garnets, the birthstone for the month. Garnets are one of my favorite stones to cut too. The first on is an Umbalite Garnet from Tanzania, the first stone to be cut from the parcel I just got last week.



This next stone is a new Malaya Garnet from Tanzania with excellent color, cut in a SRB. Photographed straight on, and then with a slight tilt.

Tags: Garnet

I was feeling a bit “Asschered out” and needed to cut something different. So I set up the concave machine and did a concave round cut on this rhodolite. This is one of the stones from a small find in Tanzania a few years ago that produced excellent color, but not really large stones. I bought about 20 of these, and they are just about gone now.
This one is 2.09 cts. and measures 7.82 mm. Should fit nicely in a 8mm stock mounting.

Tags: Garnet