Gem: Mahenge Spinel
Weight: 1.44 ct.
Dimensions: 7.15 x 7.0 mm
Clarity: SI - there are some crystal inclusions, mostly out of the way, and hard to see in-hand, given the color. It's SI within twelve inches, and VS from any farther than that.
Origin: Mahenge, Morrogorro, Tanzania
Faceting by: Scott Maier
Gem design by: Arya Akhavan - 'Century Eagle'
Treatments: none - totally natural gem
Comments:
I've been looking for a good color Mahenge spinel for years Y-E-A-R-S, haha. They are occasionally available, but unbelievably expensive for clean material, and I haven't really seen much large clean material around at all. I took a gamble on an expensive piece of SI rough, and I was able to grind away nearly all of the inclusions, which left behind a vibrant, beaming heart of gem. As noted above, there are some crystal inclusions, but almost all of them are out of the way. The gem's excellent pattern shows clearly from all angles, unbroken, and there is a very low incidence of windowing .
This color would be right at home in an impressive custom piece. Theres a little bit of salt and pepper, just for a little flavor, but it's got incredible personality between the neon tones, and dynamic gem pattern, which was originally designed by Arya Akhavan. It's a new favorite of mine, and I think the photos do a good job showing why -- performance for dayss.
Don't sleep on this one, I don't have any idea when I will encounter more rough I can afford with THIS kind of positive result. This material goes for up to 25k / ct. when it's totally clean. Why not grab one that LOOKS totally clean 98% of the time for 1k / ct.? Not much downside, if you ask me - once put into a setting, it will look even cleaner.