When Was Spessartine Discovered?

North-west Namibian spessartine, near the Angolan border at the Kunene river – discovered in 1991, enchanted the world and put spessartine on the map as a major gem material. Marketed as Hollandine garnet first, later as Mandarin garnet.

Where is Spessartine found?

Sources include Australia, Myanmar, India, Afghanistan, Israel, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania and the United States. Spessartine of an orange-yellow has been called Mandarin garnet and is found in Madagascar.

Is Spessartine garnet rare?

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Usually orange to reddish brown, gem-quality spessartite or spessartine garnets are somewhat rare. However, as blends with other garnet species, they include popular mandarin and malaya garnets as well as color change gems.