Demantoid with Horsetail – WS1137

Dementoid Garnet is the rarest of all the garnet varieties, and is valued by collectors for its exceptional brilliance and fire. The rarest and most valuable demantoid comes from Russia,Internally the Russian stones display fine needles in a radiating pattern that has become known in the trade as a horsetail inclusion. Only the Russian demantoid display this unique feature, which is prized by collectors. Though demantoid garnet has been found in other locations, notably Namibia and Madagascar.It has an unusually high refractive index, higher than ruby and sapphire, and this is one of the reasons for its impressive brilliance. Demantoid has a higher dispersion rating than diamond.Demantoid belongs to the andradite variety of garnet, and is a calcium iron silicate by chemical composition. The African demantoid tends be yellowish green, olive green or brownish, sometimes color changes due to higher concentrations of iron. The Russian demantoid is colored by chromium and tends to be a pure vivid green.Demantoid garnet is found mainly in small sizes, with most stones under 1 carat. Gems over 2 carats are considered extremely rare, and market prices reflect that. Among the rare garnets.Any gemstones that is not a diamond, ruby, emerald or sapphire is a semi-precious gemstone.Those four are considered precious because of the time it takes to create them, their rarity, and their quality or chemical makeup. Semi-precious does not mean it is less valuable than precious gemstones. Semi-precious gemstones are just usually more abundant, except some verities.This is a commercial based classification and was a distinction that marketers created years ago which gives the false impression that precious stones are more valuable than semi-precious stones.For example, a Tsavorite (green) garnet is more valuable than a mid-quality sapphire, many of them can be just as precious or rare as diamonds and rubies. There are so many semi precious gemstones in the world of gems but some of the more common ones are: alexandrite, agate, amethyst, aquamarine, garnet, lapis lazuli, moonstone, opal, pearl, peridot, rose quartz, spinel, tanzanite, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.There are approximately 200 varieties of natural gemstone known in the world today.