Grossular (Garnets)
Date - Pricing as of April 2008

Color: Yellow, gold, orange, brown, coffee, honey, yellow/green, colorless, green, mint Merlani, Tsavorite, and about any color in between.

Note: Mali Garnets are the ones that generally come to my mind when people ask for a nice Grossular Garnet. They seldom are available clean very large.

Note2: Keep in mind that most Garnets are a mix of several types of Garnets and the refractive indexes can change depending on the mix.

 

Tsavorite (Grossular Garnet)
Date - Pricing as of April 2008

Tsavorite Garnets are probably the main well known commercial Garnet. Tsavorite is mined in Tanzania at one location and as far as I know and not found any where else in the world.

Over saturation is almost always an issue with Tsavorite Garnets and most commercial cut stones are not only badly cut, but almost always badly proportioned. They cut the crowns extremely shallow to try to brighten the Garnets up. The highest quality Tsavorite has the classic green color, but is not too saturated. Needless to say stones of this mid range saturation are difficult to acquire, particularly in the rough.

Mint (Grossular Garnet)
Date - Pricing as of March 2007

Mint Merlani Garnets are from a find in Tanzania, not too far from the Tsavorite mining region. Mint Merlani Garnets are a rather unique material and there really is no other supply for mint green Grossular Garnets.

They range in color from a mint/slight yellow color to a mint/slight blue color. The mint/blue color is probably a bit more valuable, but generally in the market for larger stones there is no real price differences.

Note3: Clean stones over 1 carat are not common, clean stones over 2 carats are very rare and I value them probably double in the price range. Stones 3 carats or larger are collector stones and specialty pricing.

Note4: Pricing for both Mint Merlani and Tsavorite Garnets is very volatile and changes rapidly, usually going up in price. So it is a good idea to check prices of both of these types before pricing yours.

Pale (almost colorless to 15% tone) - Pale to light.
Comments - This material is nice and can cut a pretty stone, especially in large pieces when cut into a large interesting design that takes advantage of the color. I like light saturation.
Pricing - I generally price Grossular $125/ct to $450/ct and a minimum of $150 for a small stone to cover the labor.
Pricing - I generally price mint material $350/ct to $950/ct and a minimum of $150 for a small stone to cover the labor.

Light (15% tone to 30%) - light saturation.
Comments - This material is one of the most valuable and I sell it faceted quite well, especially in large pieces when cut into a large interesting design that takes advantage of the color.
Pricing - I generally price Grossular material $165/ct to $600/ct and a minimum of $150 for a small stone to cover the labor.
Pricing - I generally price mint material $450/ct to $1250/ct and a minimum of $150 for a small stone to cover the labor.

Light/Medium (30% tone to 45%) - Light to medium.
Comments - This material is valuable and to me probably the best range. I cut this material in what ever the best design and yield are.
Pricing - I generally price Grossular material $240/ct to $850/ct and a minimum of $150 for a small stone to cover the labor.
Pricing - I generally price mint material $650/ct to $1200/ct.

Medium (45% tone to 65%) - Medium saturation.
Comments - This material is the top quality, I cut it for shape and yield.
Pricing - I generally price Grossular material $360/ct to $1650/ct and a minimum of $150 for a small stone to cover the labor.
Pricing - I generally price mint material $850/ct to $3200/ct and Tsavorite at $1400/ct to $3600/ct.

Medium/Dark (65% tone to 85%) - Medium/dark saturation.
Comments - I cut this material in the smaller to medium size ranges and typically use unique designs. This material is often in the honey/gold color range.
Pricing - I generally price Grossular material $180/ct to $360/ct and a minimum of $150 for a small stone to cover the labor.
Pricing - I generally price Tsavorite at $450/ct to $2400/ct.

Dark (85% tone to 100%) - This material is around, usually very dark. I seldom cut any thing this dark.
Comments - Depending on the saturation melee or a smaller stone may work.
Pricing - Pricing this material is determined after cutting depending on the category above the material fits into.

Special - As we all know as cutters some times a stone just comes out "special" for what ever reason. On these kinds of stones I basically price how ever I feel like. Because this stone comes under the "special" category I often do not care if I sell the stone or not. So I usually price it high enough that if I do sell it, I get a very good price. Enough to make me say "Oh well..." and sell it. So be aware that some times I just price a stone high because I do not care if I sell it. Ironically these stones usually sell the fastest...

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E-mail to inquire or order: jeff@faceters.com