How we describe a stone
Spessartite is graded on colour first and everything else second, and like every garnet it reaches you untreated. We also tell you where the trade names stop meaning anything.
Pure, bright orange is the top. Iron content pulls the colour towards brownish red and takes value with it, so we state the hue plainly rather than flattering it.
Spessartite is a type II stone and commonly carries wispy internal veils. We list stones that are clean to the eye; anything visible is stated and photographed.
The material has high refraction and rewards a lively cut. We prefer proportions that keep the stone bright over proportions that keep the weight.
Weight with exact millimetre dimensions. Clean stones above five carats are uncommon and are priced on their own, not by the parcel.
None. Garnets are not heated, oiled or irradiated as a species, so there is nothing to disclose and nothing that can change after you buy.
"Mandarin" is a trade term for the purest orange, with no agreed boundary and no laboratory that will certify it. We use it as a description, never as a reason for a higher price.