Andradite Garnet (new find)

Item Description

From a new find last year in Afghanistan, these are some of the most exciting Garnet crystals to come from any locality in the country. Now these are different from the older Andradite Garnet (var: Demantoid) that started coming out in the early 2000s, as the color is lighter in this new material, and I don't know if you can really call them Demantoid. This large miniature / small cabinet specimen hosts sharp, lustrous, dodecahedral crystals of a gentle green color measuring up to 1.4 cm sitting on matrix. Now as you can see from the photos, the crystals have a few minor rough spots around the edges, so they're not completely perfect - hence the auction listing - but the faces of the larger crystals reflect like mirrors, which combined with the impressive size, make it one of the better Garnets we've had to offer from the locality. If you're a Garnet collector, or a fan of minerals from Afghanistan, this is a worthwhile piece to add to your collection.