Talk to me about Demantoid

[sphenequeen]

... more specifically material from Namibia. Is this in fact a newer source of this rare stone? What are the differences between the material from Namibia and that from Russia?

I happen to really love the color of the Namibian material that I have seen online. Any sources about this stone and where to buy is greatly appreciated!

 

[chrono]

The Namibian demantoids have been around for quite a few years so I would not consider it a new source. The Namibian tend to show more blue but the colouration seems not to be as chrome green or intense in saturation as the Russian material. Again, this is a general statement. I've seen some on Litnon, Tan's various eBay websites and Uli's website.

 

[T L]

Some Namibian material can be very olive in color, or shift to an olive or yellowish green color. It also tends to be more crystal, and not have those horsetail inclusions.

The old mine (Urals) Russian material had a very intense chrome green color to it. Much of the new mine material isn't exactly the same, even though it's from Russia. It can also be olive or yellowish green in color too, although the Namibian tends to be slightly more bluish IMO.

Some Namibian material can be very beautiful, but I would ask about color shifts before I bought any of that material, Russian, Namibian or otherwise.

HTH

 

[sphenequeen]

Thank you Chrono and TL. And by stating that the source was "newer" I was not implying that it is "new" - but certainly a more recent find than the Russian deposits.

 

[pregcurious]

The "top" material from Russia and Namibia that I've seen in the last 5 years looks different as Chrono and TL have described. I think of them as 2 different creatures. If you want a vivid, saturated, chrome green with a neon look and horsetail inclusion, go Russian. If you want a blueish green, with less saturation, but with good crystal, go Namibian. The Namibian material can throw off bits of different color, kind of like the lavender spinels that people have fallen in love with. I have never seen the two types of demantoids side by side...I wonder if you could find that at Intergem?

 

[pregcurious]

Here are examples from Wilds Global, illustrating the bluish-green and great crystal of Namibian, and the chrome green and glow of Russian:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WILDSglobalminerals?section_id=12016506

 

[sphenequeen]

Pregcurious that was extremely helpful!

 

[pregcurious]

No problem, sphenequeen. A picture is worth...

Which one do you prefer? Namibian or Russian?

 

[chrono]

Here are examples from Wilds Global, illustrating the bluish-green and great crystal of Namibian, and the chrome green and glow of Russian:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/WILDSglobalminerals?section_id=12016506

Excellent picture example! As you can tell, the two "flavours" are quite different.

 

[T L]

Here's a lousy picture I took with an old camera of an old mine Russian demantoid ring on display at a musuem. It was incredibly beautiful color in person, and this is the color I personally never ever see in new material, even from Russia. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but I never ever see it, and if you did, I'm sure it would be worth $$$$$. It was an incredible neon green, and my photo below doesn't even capture how true the color was. It literally glowed.

In any case, this is probably top color in my estimation, but perhaps a demantoid expert would be able to better advise. They had another Russian demantoid at the museum in a necklace, and it didn't compare at all to this green. It was a very olive looking color.

 

[minousbijoux]

Nice, TL! That is like the color of those that I (and I believe later on, some others here) saw a few years ago at a gem show. Up until that show, I had never seen a gem so saturated of color that could throw off so much dispersion:

[URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/demantoids.168771/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/demantoids.168771/[/URL]

 

[T L]

Minous,
That gem might looks completely different against a white or grey background though. Gems seem to look more saturated against a dark background.

 

[sphenequeen]

No problem, sphenequeen. A picture is worth...

Which one do you prefer? Namibian or Russian?

Actually, I like the slightly blueish undertone of the Namibian stone - In a way, it reminds me of Kenny's fancy intense green OEC. There is something very magical about the way both sets of stones capture the light!

 

[minousbijoux]

Minous,
That gem might looks completely different against a white or grey background though. Gems seem to look more saturated against a dark background.

Nope, not at all. I spent a good deal of time hanging around with the three of them - a pair of one carat each rounds, and then a 2+ round. They were some of the most beautiful stones I've had the pleasure of seeing - like I said, dispersion that let you know this was not any normal green stone, and then this saturated color...sigh. One had perfect horsetails that looked like fireworks.

I had to let them get away as I didn't feel that I could devote that much to them, but they still haunt my dreams...

 

[minousbijoux]

No problem, sphenequeen. A picture is worth...

Which one do you prefer? Namibian or Russian?

Actually, I like the slightly blueish undertone of the Namibian stone - In a way, it reminds me of Kenny's fancy intense green OEC. There is something very magical about the way both sets of stones capture the light!

Yay, then you just saved yourself thousands of dollars, lol! I too like the blueish tone that some - not all - Namibians have. They also tend to be less saturated than Russians, which sometimes translates into even greater dispersion.

 

[T L]

Minous,
That gem might looks completely different against a white or grey background though. Gems seem to look more saturated against a dark background.

Nope, not at all. I spent a good deal of time hanging around with the three of them - a pair of one carat each rounds, and then a 2+ round. They were some of the most beautiful stones I've had the pleasure of seeing - like I said, dispersion that let you know this was not any normal green stone, and then this saturated color...sigh. One had perfect horsetails that looked like fireworks.

I had to let them get away as I didn't feel that I could devote that much to them, but they still haunt my dreams...

Oh, I didn't realize you saw them in person. Cool.

 

[pregcurious]

I've always had a soft spot for demantoids. Way back in the late 90s when I got engaged, I thought of getting one as an engagement ring stone. I knew very little of CSs back then.

Wilds Global had a rectangular cushion Namibian that looked amazing in photos. I can't get that stone out of my mind.