Andradite Garnet (var: Demantoid)

Item Description

Demantoid Garnet is a celebrated and highly sought after variety Garnet, and one of the most sought after varieties out there. The seldom seen, but fine quality specimens from the Ghazni Province of Afghanistan are some of the most attractive Demantoids outside of Europe/Russia in the world in my mind. This miniature sized specimen hosts several sharp, lustrous, translucent, beautiful rich green colored, slightly modified dodecahedral crystals of Andradite (var: Demantoid) measuring up to 5 mm on matrix. The crystals are about average sized for the locality. PLEASE NOTE: These crystals show a color change from a "mint green" color to a very rich "lime green" hue in different lighting. Under halogen lights, the crystals appear more pastel, but under mercury bulbs, the color is very intense! A very attractive example of these now hard to find specimens. I'm told the locality where these pieces are found is not producing anything these days.