Judging quality
Look for saturated orange without brown, and for the fine wavy 'shredded' inclusions typical of the species. Color rarely needs treatment, so treated spessartine is uncommon.
Garnet
Spessartine Garnet
Manganese garnet in a vivid mandarin orange. Namibian material from the Kunene River gave the trade name 'mandarin garnet' in the 1990s; Chinese crystals from Fujian are collectors' pieces on smoky quartz matrix.
Care
Durable. Warm soapy water.
History & lore
Named for the Spessart district of Bavaria, where it was first described.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Spessartine Garnet
- What is Spessartine Garnet?
- Manganese garnet in a vivid mandarin orange. Namibian material from the Kunene River gave the trade name 'mandarin garnet' in the 1990s; Chinese crystals from Fujian are collectors' pieces on smoky quartz matrix.
- How hard is Spessartine Garnet and what is it made of?
- Spessartine Garnet is a Garnet-family mineral with the composition Mn3Al2(SiO4)3. It crystallizes in the cubic system and rates 7-7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in orange, amber, red.
- Where does Spessartine Garnet come from?
- Notable localities for Spessartine Garnet include Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, China (Fujian).
- How do you tell good Spessartine Garnet from filler?
- Look for saturated orange without brown, and for the fine wavy 'shredded' inclusions typical of the species. Color rarely needs treatment, so treated spessartine is uncommon.
- How do you care for Spessartine Garnet?
- Durable. Warm soapy water.
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.