Andradite Garnet (var: Demantoid)

Item Description

We first started seeing these pieces trickling out in 2005, and every few years another small pocket seems to make its way to the market. They are certainly some of our favorite Andradite Garnets (var: Demantoid) not just from Afghanistan, but any world locality. Most people don't think about Demantoid coming from Afghanistan, as it's more typically associated Demantoid with either Russia, Italy or the recent Madagascar. This attractive small cabinet display specimen hosts a few very sharp, good sized, rather lustrous, translucent, glowing mint green dodecahedral crystals measuring up to 8 mm on Chrysotile on matrix. These crystals are large for the locality, as I've seen nothing larger than 10 mm. If you look closely, you can see that the fibrous Chrysotile was actually partially growing on the surface of the Garnets, and was either removed by hand or possibly peeled away from the other side of the pocket when the piece was collected. Lastly, it's important to note that these crystals actually display a color change from a "mint green" color to a rich "lime green" in different lighting. There will be more of a pastel hue under halogen lights, and when placed under mercury bulbs, and the color actually intensifies! If you collect Garnets or minerals of Afghanistan, this is certainly one of the better pieces we've had to offer in the auctions recently. Very good quality for Demantoid regardless of the locality. Priced at $700.