Description
What’s a Merelani Mint garnet? It’s basically a light green grossular garnet, not dark enough green to be called a Tsavorite. The coloring comes from vanadium. The name comes from the Merelani region of Tanzania, although those light green garnets are also found in nearby Kenya. Grossular garnet has a relatively high refractive index which helps the gems achieve a high level of brilliance.
This gem is cut in a new oval design I call “Testudo” as it reminds me of a tortoise shell. Its an extremely brilliant design that shows a great deal of scintillation and some dispersion. The gem weighs 0.57 carats and measures 5.4 x 4.1 x 3.5 mm. This gem is very clean–there are just a few tiny inclusions not visible without a 10x loupe.
