Gem Profile 11: Namibian Demantoid Garnet    
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         Demantoid garnet is a lot like vodka—identified absolutely (pun intended) with Russia, although both come from other places.  Hence making a market in non-Russian varieties of either is a daunting task that takes considerable prowess and perseverance.  In the case of demantoid, Russia has been synonymous with the green andradite since its discovery in the Ural Mountains in 1868 and its adoption shortly thereafter by Tiffany’s as on of its favorite accent stones.  Thanks to Tiffany’s, demantoid seems to have functioned as the rich man’s peridot during the heyday of its production in the Victorian era. 

            Once mining in Russia ceased around 1920, demantoid took on a stubborn mystique of its own that has lasted among connoisseurs and collectors to this very day.  It is to green garnet what Kashmir is to sapphire, and Burma is to ruby—the supreme origin point.  But the mystique of Russian andradites possess a signature inclusion—curved sprays of actinolite resembling a “horsetail”—considered an indispensable identifying characteristics of this gem.  Indeed, the size and formation of the horsetail can significantly affect the host stone’s value.  And it is an aesthetic demerit to be without one. 

               Maybe this is why demantoids from other countries have never fared well.  In 1991, the year Russia resumed limited mining of demantoid garnet, German dealers exhibiting in Tucson introduced andradites from Mali, and republic in western Africa, with much fanfare.  But their campaign quickly hit a sour note when buyers found the new breed too pale in tone, too yellow-brown in color and, worst of all, entirely lacking in horsetail inclusions.  If these stones had at least contained horsetails, this talking point might have made up for their other failings.  The Germans repeated their mistake, in 1998 with material from Namibia, South Africa’s neighbor to the north
   
        Nevertheless, what would happen if horsetail-free demantoids that compared favorably with Russian goods in color came on the market?  Would they suffer the rejection that material from Italy, Arizona, and Mali did?  Or would jewelers starved for pretty green garnets welcome the newcomer? 

        Namibian garnet is not new by any stretch.  There is a specimen dated 1936 in the British Museum.  While it is not new, Namibian demantoid garnet is new now that hundred of miners, working alone and in small teams, are pulling rough out from the country’s west-central barrens.  These diggers who use hand tools and brute strength to scratch gems from outcroppings that dot a 100-kilometer stretch several hundred kilometers to the northwest of Windhoek, the country’s capita.  There is no heavy machinery or mechanization it is purely pick-and-shovel, bucket-and-sack operations.

           For the most part, Namibian demantod is a daylight gem.  Run-of-the-mill goods are plagued with a strong iron caused color shift towards brown in incandescent light that makes them as unappealing as their equally afflicted Mali counterparts.
   
        Like any other breeds of andradite, Namibia’s have a cautionary hardness of 6.5.  Most are small, usually under ½ carat, although Johnston has cut may stones over 1 carat and few between 3 and 4 carats, and a whopper near 10 carats.  Depending on size, color, and weakness of color shift expect to pay $100-$200 per carat for melee and anywhere from $200-$800 per carat for stones 1 carat and above.  A few that invites comparison to fine Russian stones fetch as high as $1,00 per carat.  But andradites that superb and rate probably won’t make it past one day. 

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