Demantoid Garnet

Item Description

Of all the gem species and varieties of Garnet in the world, Demantoid is one of if not THE most sought after, rare and valuable. This variety of Andradite was first discovered in 1868 at the Telyanskaya River in the Ural Mountains of Russia. The material gets its name from the German word for Diamond as it has one of the highest dispersions in the gem world at 0.057. It actually has a higher dispersion (the way it refracts light) than Diamond! The old Russian stones are highly sought after by collectors as many experts believe they still have the finest saturation of color when compared to Demantoids from any other world localities. This particular stone is at least 50 years old and comes from the collection of Richard A. Kosnar (the namesake for Kosnarite). Rich had the stone in his collection from the time he moved to Colorado in 1970, and it remained with the Kosnar family after his death. It's difficult to determine the exact age of the gem unfortunately. This "Antique Pear" cut stone is almost the ideal green color for the material in my mind as it's not too dark, and it just has a bit of the slightly golden overtones. This is important because typically the Demantoids with the slightly warmer hues will have a higher dispersion causing it to have a bit more visible "fire" (rainbow-colored flashes) when rotated in the light. The stone looks good indoors, but it looks fantastic in direct sunlight! The clarity is superb for the material as it is nearly eye clean, but it DOES features some of the characteristic, thin, golden "horse tail" inclusions (which are actually thin "needle"-like inclusions of Chrysotile). Most of the time, collectors do not want inclusions in their stones, but in rare cases like Russian Demantoids, the inclusions not only make the gem more valuable, but a sign that the stones are authentically Russian and therefore carry more significance and desirability. The stone is valued at $2,502.50 retail for the size, quality, color, historic value and the fact that there are not too many of them on the market over 1 carat available these days, so don't miss out on a chance to snag this stone for a great price.