Spessartite garnet you find by Rolf Dillmann
Vibrant orange and pinkish orange spessartite garnet from Nigeria has become a
hot new gemstone in jewellery collections being promoted by designers and
retailers in various jewellery markets. From Japan to Europe to the United
States, spessartite garnet is setting a new jewellery fashion trend and demand
is from both designers making one-of-a-kind pieces and manufacturers of mass
production. Deposits of this brightly coloured garnet with a high brilliance
were first discovered in Nigeria in early 1999. Strong demand from jewellery
manufacturers and designers has pushed sales up tremendously for gemstone
suppliers stocking spessartite garnet, wholesalers said. Demand is for both
large free sizes in special cuts as well as sma1ler calibrated sizes. Best selling are bright pinkish orange stones and large exceptional stones can
sell
for up to US$I,500 a carat. However, the best selling range is 3 carats to 5
carats at US$100 to US$300 a carat.
In Japan, the orange garnet is being sold under the French name spessartine and
laboratories are issuing reports using that name. Wholesalers said spessartite
garnet sales have been propelled by promotions of the colours, orange and purple,
by fashion designers of clothes and accessories for summer and autumn collections for the year 2000. To complement these fashion trends, jewellery
designers and manufacturers are producing new collections with spessartite
garnet. One large gemstone wholesaler in Japan that is stocking and selling a
good quantity of spessartite garnet is Ito Co Ltd in Tokyo. Owner, Akira Ito,
said sales of spessartite garnet have increased 50 percent in the first half of
2000 compared with the total sales in 1999.
“There is a definite trend towards spessartite garnet and all sizes sell, from
stones below 1 carat up to 10 carats”.
He said previously spessartite garnet was little known and hardly used in Japan.
“But availability from Nigeria, coupled with the fashion trend for orange and
the need for jewellers to show something different to make a sale in the slow
market have helped increased sales”. Mr Ito said in Japan, best selling
Nigerian stones are 3 carats to 5 carats from US$100 to US$200 a carat.
“Smaller stones sell well too, and sizes from 1 carat to 3 carats are from
US$60 to US$120 a carat. Stones below 1 carat are from US$30 to US$60 a carat.
“Demand from exclusive designers is for stones up to 10 carats and best
selling is from USS200 to USS300 a carat,” he said. Mr Ito said since he has
been stocking and promoting spessartite garnet for the past seven years,
particularly the Namibia variety which was sold under the trade name, mandarin
garnet, other dealers and manufacturers are aware of his stock, and sales have
been good. He said to help retailers promote the garnet to consumers, he offers
information packs about the stones – where they are from, what makes them
special and offers the option of laboratory certificates when required.
EUROPE
Demand is strong in Europe for most sizes, but best selling is from 1.5 carats
to 4 carats, wholesalers said. Ekkehard Schneider of Ekkehard F. Schneider in
Kirschweiler in Germany said since demand is growing, his company now
concentrates more of ist efforts on marketing spessartite garnet. Among the most
preferred shapes are cushion cuts and trilliants, Mr Schneider said. “In
addition to free sizes, we have started to sell smaller sizes, particularly 3mm
rounds in calibrated sizes or in similar sizes that will fit into jewellery
mountings.” Although supply from Nigeria is dwindling, we are fortunate we
have a good stock. We try to buy as much as possible and have been stocking over
the past several months. Mr Schneider said demand is worldwide: Germany,
Switzerland and Austria in Europe as well as in the United States and Japan.
Israel Eliezri of Colgem EL97 Ltd in Israel said about 20 percent of the
production from Nigeria show a bright orange colour because of the absence of
iron. Colgem was one of the first companies to promote spessartite garnet from
Namibia under the name mandarin garnet. He said best selling for Colgem is 4
carats to 5 carats at US$250 a carat. However bright orange 5-carat stones can
sell for as much as US$700 a carat and exceptional colour and larger sizes can
sell for up to US$1,000 a carat.
UNITED STATES
In the United States, demand is strong from both designers and manufacturers and
spessartite is being used as a single large stone to highlight a bold designer
piece or as multiple smaller stones in necklaces or bracelets.
A market research company in the United States, Gem World International, which
tracks gemstone sales and trends in the United States says one of the best
selling gemstones in 2000 is spessartite garnet. Stuart Robertson of Gem World
said best selling is polished from 1 carat to 3 carats from US$100 to US$150 a
carat. One company in the United States that is stocking spessartite is Pala
International in California. Bill Larson of Pala International said: “Because
the color of spessartite is so unusual and its brilliance so strong, it makes it
a truly unique stone and is helping increase its popularity.“ He said stones
from 2 carats to 20 carats sell well but demand is particularly strong for
stones from 8 carat to 10 carats with an average price of about US$300 a carat.
He said unlike the spessartite or mandarin garnet from Namibia which was a small
amount and sold at higher prices, Nigerian spessartite is more widely available
and prices have become attractive. "We bought large parcels starting in the
summer of 1999 at prices ranging from US$60,000 to US$100,000 a kilogram. We
have produced polished from this rough in a range of sizes and in matching
suites for necklaces and bracelets. "Since we promoted demantoid garnet
from Russia earlier, many jewellers know we carry rare and highquality garnets
and approach us for spessartite garnet. We also had a large stock at the JCK Las
Vegas International Jewelry Show and promoted strongly there too" Mr Larson
said.
NIGERIAN
ROUGH SUPPLY IS DWINDLING
Rough supply of spessartite from Nigeria is dwindling and wholesalers
said supply may soon not be adequate to meet demand. Some said only lower-grade
material suitable for small polished or for cabochons is available. They said
suppliers in Nigeria are now offering the lower qualities compared with the
better qualities offered before.
Ekkehard Schneider of Ekkehard F. Schneider in Kirschweiler in Germany said
supply is scarce. "Prices for rough are increasing while sizes available
are becoming smaller, with more inclusions and in darker colours. On the other
hand, demand is growing for larger sizes and cleaner stones in lighter and
intense colours." Suppliers in Nigeria report that miners have moved from
the spessartite garnet mining area to a new deposit of aquamarine that has
recently been discovered in Nigeria. One wholesaler described the situation:
“This is Africa. A new deposit is discovered; miners rush to the area; a flood
of the gemstone hit the market then the deposit dwindles; a new find of another
stone is made and the miners rush off to seek their fortune in another stone, another area. For wholesalers who see the potential of a new
find and take the risk to stock enough as it comes out of the mines, there is a
chance to promote the stone and make it a fashion trend. 'This is true for
spessartite garnet from Nigeria. A few dealers saw the potential of this
brilliant stone in strong, vivid colours, went in, bought whatever rough they
could and now they are offering to the jewellery world a rare stone in some of
the most unusual colours," the wholesaler said. Bill Larson of Pala
International in California said: "Rarely has there been a stone like the
spessartite garnet from Nigeria. These colours may be found in the sapphire
family and then sell for high prices, but for garnets these are truly
exceptional."
WHAT
IS SPESSARTITE?
Spessartite is manganese aluminium silicate and was first discovered in the
Spessart district of Bavaria but the occurrence had no gem significance. It is
also known in the trade as spessartine, which is the French version.
Small amounts of gem quality spessartite have been found in the gravels of Sri
Lanka and Myanmar, in Madagascar, New South Wales in Australia, Norway and in
several locations in the United States, including Virginia, Califomia and
Colorado. A reason why spessartite from Nigeria is different from other sources
is that it has a very low percentage of iron, which accounts for the bright
orange colours. In the deposit from Namibia, there was no trace of iron in most
stones which gave the stones an intense orange colour, Israel Eliezri of Colgem
EL 97 Ltd said. Spessartite from other regions has a higher content of iron
which gives it a reddish brown appearance, Mr Eliezri said.
By Jennifer Henricus
