The demantoid garnet is the star of all garnets and quite possibly is the most coveted of all colored gemstones.  It has a brilliance that some say even surpasses that of a diamond: the name demantoid by definition means diamond-like.  The exceptional brilliance of a demantoid garnet is based on two factors, its high refractive index (1.880 to 1.889) and its high dispersion.  The high refractive index means that a demantoid garnet will glow even in dim lighting and the high dispersion means that all of the colors of the rainbow are released from the gem when light touches it.  Furthermore, the demantoid garnet is a 6.5-7.0 on the MOH scale, which makes this gemstone very suitable for all types of jewelry due to its strength.  The spectrum of colors of a demantoid garnet cover all shades of green: the lighest being a yellowish-green and the darkest being a deep emerald green.

Large specimens of faceted demantoid garnets are almost never found as a 2 carat demantoid garnet would be considered to be a world class gem and a 5 carat demantoid garnet would only be found inside of a museum.  Non-faceted (rough or crystal) transparent to translucent demantoid garnets are also excedingly rare in sizes larger than 20 carats and thus would also only be found inside of a museum.  Fine specimens of faceted demantoid garnets are valued at more than $10,000 per carat.  This price will seem like a bargain when the story of the few mines that have found demantoid garnets in the rough is told...

Demantoid garnets were first discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia in 1868.  Immediately this gem became everyone's favorite gem and was placed into the finest jewelry from Russia to Paris and even to New York.  Even Carl Faberge, Russia's star jeweller, proclaimed the demantoid garnet to be his favorite gem at the time.  Quickly the mine in the Ural Mountains became depleted of fine specimens and thus the star of garnets was nowhere to be found.  This is until 1996 when another small demantoid garnet mine was discovered in Namibia.  In the dry and very hard land of Namibia a goatherd stumbled upon a few crystals that he believed to be special.  Word spread and before long experts flocked to Namibia and after more than 100 years another demantoid garnet mine was discovered.  After almost 10 years this Namibia mine, which has been carefully quarried by hand, is now almost depleted.  Thus the demantoid garnet is likely to succumb to another drought where demand greatly outweighs supply.  Let's hope that it doesn't take more than 100 years to find another mine... but who knows this could be the last place, and the last demantoid garnets, to ever be uncovered.

The signature of a demantoid garnet from the Urals is the so called horsetail inclusions.  These golden-brown inclusions radiate out of the center of the gem and actually increase the value of the demantoid garnet.  Demantoid garnets from Namibia may be more brilliant and more clear than demantoid garnets from the Urals, nevertheless demantoid garnets from the Urals will always be worth more due to their signature horsetail inclusions.  If you are able to find a nice specimen of demantoid garnet, whether from the Urals or from Namibia, grab it because this gemstone will quickly become the rarest and the most expensive of all colored gemstones.  The demantoid garnet is one of the few gemstones that all gem enthusiasts agree will only increase in value and increase in rarity in the days to come...

I hope you found this to be an informative and interesting read!  Eric Varma from Ebay Store Estate Rings