The earrings gold work is handmade of 15 karat yellow gold and set in the basket setting are rare garnets called Mandarin Garnets. The garnets are a rare color of a rich orange brown color which is very brilliant. Both stones are a very nice quality of gemstone and were hand cut.
Mandarin garnets, also known as orange spessartite garnets, are naturally occurring stones found primarily in Africa that are known for their orange appearance. They are members of the spessartite family of garnets. .
If the stone is mainly orange, it's considered by definition to be a mandarin. However, the stones from Namibia are more saturated in color compared to those from places like Madagascar, etc. If a spessartite is redder than it is orange, then it's considered to be either an orange spessartite or red-orange spessartite.
Spessartite is considered a rare stone; the mines are nearly stripped in most places in the early ninth century. There are some mines in which there is believed to be deposits according to some of the major traders [who?], but they say it is too dangerous to attempt to extract this mineral.
The earrings are from Savannah Georgia and in excellent condition and both earrings have replaced backs