New Acquisitions - Demantoid Bracelet
- Photography by Ken Larsen. Gift of Chris Johnston, Johnston-Namibia, 2008.
Garnets are familiar to most people as dark red gemstones that were fashionable in the 18th-19th centuries and are popular today in moderately priced jewelry. However, the name garnet refers to a family of 15 distinct minerals, 5 of which are commonly used as gemstones. Garnet gems can exhibit the complete spectrum of colors except blue. The rarest and most prized garnet gem is the green to greenish-yellow variety of the mineral andradite, called demantoid. The name comes from the word demant, meaning "diamond," so called because of demantoid's high luster and dispersion. Demantoid’s dispersion, or the ability to separate light into its component colors – sometimes referred to as "fire," is greater than that of diamond. Even though demantoids with an intense green color are most highly valued, the lighter green stones tend to exhibit more fire and brilliance.
Demantoid was first discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1851, and from that time through the early 1900s they were popular in Russia. They were commonly used by the famous jeweler, Peter Carl Fabergé. Tiffany’s chief gem buyer, George Kunz, also made extensive use of demantoid gems in their jewelry during the late 19th century. Demantoid gemstones larger than a few carats are rare; most in fact are smaller than 1 carat. Today, because of limited supplies, demantoid maintains its status as a rare and valued gem and is most commonly seen in antique jewelry. However, the well-matched intense, yellowish-green demantoids in this spectacular 18k gold bracelet are from a significant new find that occurred in 1996 in Namibia. This bracelet greatly enhances the collection of demantoids in the National Gem Collection.
[ TOP ]