Andradite Garnet (var: Demantoid)

Item Description

Going back to 2005, there was a discovery of some really attractive Demantoid Garnets in Afghanistan. Crystallized Demantoids are certainly popular and hard to find because there are only a few places in the world that produce good specimens (Russia, Italy or recently Madagascar). While fairly limited on the market, the best Afghani specimens are actually fine quality. This toenail specimen hosts several sharp, very lustrous, translucent, wonderful green color dodecahedral crystals of Demantoid measuring up to 4 mm on white Chrysotile on host rock matrix. I would like to point out that these crystals actually display a color shift from a blue-green color to a yellow-green hue depending upon the lighting under which it's viewed. If you're a Garnet collector, or a fan of minerals from Afghanistan, this is a nice little piece to add to your collection.