Color Change Garnet

Item Description

Garnet gem have been popular with dealers and collectors due to their durability and wide range of colors. The various species and varieties are some of the most well-known gems in the world. I have literally seen Garnet in every color of the rainbow (including colorless and black), but arguably the most sought after Garnets are the rarely seen color change stones. Many color change Garnets are found in Africa, whether it be Tanzania, Kenya or even Madagascar. We were happy to get this stone, as the supply seems to be limited on the market. Chemically, this is not one species of Garnet, but possibly a mixture of Grossular and Spessartine, though some have told us that there is a bit of Pyrope in there as well. Under halogen lighting, you will see this stone shows a beautiful reddish-pink color, but when you take it out in the sun, it changes to a more of a coppery-peach shade. This phenomenon is known as an "Alexandrite"-type color change, which is rarely seen in any gem. It's a good sized stone for the material (anything over 1 carat is considered collector quality), as most of them are on the smaller side. It's certainly gem quality, and only has very slight inclusions. The cut on this stone is a "Pear Brilliant" cut. A highly valued gem on the market today. I've seen this material retailing for as much as $1,000 per carat in some instances, so this stone COULD be valued by some retailers as high was $1,179.00