Larger Amounts of "Russian" Demantoid Garnet Being Seen in the Market

In perusing the internet, there are many more Russian Demantoid Garnets than usual being offered. We believe we know why - it is not because they are finding or mining more in Russia, but it is due to a fairly new strike of this mineral from Madagascar. The color being found ranges from green, blue green, yellow green, yellow and other colors associated with this variety (Andradite). As to be expected, the average faceted gemstones are not large and can be quite included.

The interesting thing about this new find is that the gemstones are appearing on the market as having come from Russia. Why? Because many people who have heard of this rare garnet associate the fine material as coming from Russia - therefore, higher prices are to be expected from the Russian material. The sellers, either out of lack of knowledge or blatantly attempting to deceive, are marketing this as Russian vs. Madagascar Demantoid. Of course, there is still Russian material being mined and on the market, but most of the newer material for sale is coming from Thailand and it would typcially be from the Madagascar find.

This story is similar to Emeralds which are found in Africa, Brasil and other places of the world. They may sometimes be sold as Columbian, because of Columbia's reputation as being an Emerald producer and many fine ones have come from there, specifically the Muzo Mine.