Andradite Garnet (var: Demantoid)

Item Description

Starting around 2005, we started seeing some fine quality Andradite Garnets (var: Demantoid) from a small discovery in the Ghazni Province of Afghanistan. We thought the locality was dried up, but a friend in Peshawar recently sold us a small parcel of some good quality specimens. Even though there are plenty of Garnet localities in Afghanistan most people will think of places like Russia, Italy or Madagascar when it comes to Demantoid. Here we have a large miniature / small cabinet display specimen that features a few fine quality, very sharp, glassy, gemmy green dodecahedral crystals of Demantoid on matrix. I love the fact that the crystals are so beautifully isolated and the luster is incredibly high for the material! Hard to photograph, and certainly better in person. The largest Demantoid measures 6 mm across. Lastly, it should be noted that you can see a color change (or color shift) in these crystals as they show more of a "mint green" color under halogen lighting, but they are rich glowing green hue in sunlight. If you're a collector of Garnets or minerals of Afghanistan, don't miss out on this really attractive specimen. This is fine quality Demantoid regardless of the locality.