Spessartine Garnet on Slender Matrix

This deep & bright orange colored all-natural, untreated Orange Spessartine Garnet in glittering matrix from Tanzania has brilliant inner fire, clearly visible throughout the gemstone, and comes embedded in the sparkling matrix from which it was birthed deep beneath the surface of the Earth. You can see a couple of tiny garnets peeking through the matrix on the back side of this specimen. The net weight of the twin garnets and matrix is 55 carats or 11 grams or 1.6 ounces, more than a quarter pound. These Orange garnet gemstones have 24 kite-shaped facets, and come from Loliondo, Tanzania. They were mined toward the end of 2007, and first appeared on the global gem market at the Tucson show in January 2008. Gems & Gemology magazine's spring 2008 issue had just come out when we first saw these beauties and had a story on these amazing garnets -- which have captivated collectors worldwide.There were only two dealers with substantial quantities and access to the mines, and we hav