Editing Demantoid (section)

== History ==
Although garnets have been known since ancient times, the demantoid variety was not discovered until 1851 in [[Russia]]'s western central [[Ural Mountains]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Andradite (var. demantoid) |url=https://naturalhistory.si.edu/explore/collections/geogallery/10002932 |access-date=18 February 2025 |website=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History}}</ref>  The find was an alluvial deposit about {{convert|110|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} from [[Ekaterinburg]], north by northwest along the Bobrovka River, near the village of Elizavetinskoye.  Miners were immediately stunned by the highly refractive nature of the gem material, which is atypical for garnet.  They began comparing it to diamond and referred to it as "demantoid", from the old German ''Demant'', meaning diamond.  The reason is obvious, with its high brilliance and dispersion.<ref>{{cite web|title=Demantoid Garnet Value, Price, and Jewelry Information|publisher=International Gem Society|url=http://www.gemsociety.org/article/demantoid/}}</ref>

A second find was made {{convert|75|km|mi|abbr=on}} to the south of Ekaterinburg, on the Chusovaya and Chrisolitka Rivers southwest of the village of Poldnevaya.  Deposits are also found underground up to {{convert|3|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} deep in the demantoid placier.  In all, there are five deposits of demantoid in this area.  Possessing an unusual green color and a dispersion greater than that of [[diamond]], it quickly became a treasured and expensive gemstone.  From the time of the demantoids find until about 1919, they were popular in Russia as the famous [[Peter Carl Fabergé]] made jewelry with them.  In austere Communist Russia, these gems went out of style.

More stones were found in the Bobrovka River in the 1970s and 1980s.  Around 1999, very limited production occurred in the central Ural Mountains.  Many of the stones found then are for sale today.  Mining takes place along the rivers today, but some mining is still done secretively.{{citation needed|date=August 2011}}

A significant new find of demantoid and andradite took place in [[Namibia]] in 1996 at what is now dubbed the "Green Dragon" mine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gia.edu/research-resources/gems-gemology/indexes/30%20Year-Subject-Index.pdf|title=Subject Index 1981–2010|publisher=Gemological Institute of America}}</ref>

In addition to the commercially-important deposits in Russia and Namibia, demantoids are also found in some other places, including Italy (Val Malenco, Lombardy), Iran (Kerman), and Afghanistan.<ref>"[http://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=1258 Demantoid Gallery]", Mineralogy Database</ref>

The Iranian demantoids exhibit a spatial distribution restricted to two distinct locations: Baft, Kerman province (Southeastern Iran), and Takab, West Azerbaijan (Northwestern Iran). Petrographically, the Baft demantoids are associated with serpentinite schist lithologies, whereas the Takab specimens are exclusively hosted within skarn metamorphic rocks.<ref>[https://gem-a.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/2.-Ahadnejad_JoG2022_38_4-Vol-38-4.pdf Ahadnejad et al., 2022]</ref>

Around 2009, there was a significant discovery of demantoid and andradite garnet in Madagascar.<ref>Federico Pezzotta, Ilaria Adamo, and Valeria Diella. "[http://www.gia.edu/research-resources/gems-gemology/issues/spring2011-contents/spring-2011-pezzotta.html Demantoid and Topazolite from Antetezambato, Northern Madagascar: Review and New Data]," ''Gems & Gemology'' (Spring 2011), Gemological Institute of America</ref>