the.com/andradite
a garnet so flashy it once impersonated diamond, then went full rainbow.
means Andradite is a calcium-iron species of garnet that ranges from yellow-green to deep black and includes prized varieties like demantoid and rainbow andradite.
from Named in honor of the Brazilian mineralogist José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva, who first described the mineral; the suffix '-ite' is the standard tag pinned onto mineral names, from Greek '-ites,' meaning 'belonging to' or 'of the nature of.'
- named for
- Brazilian mineralogist Jose Bonifacio de Andrada
- demantoid variety
- greenest garnet, outshines emerald with diamond-level fire
- horsetail flaw
- prized inclusions actually raise its value
- rainbow type
- iridescent specimens flash like oil on water
- calcium iron
- chemistry packs iron into garnet's crystal cage
demantoid garnet — green variety of andradite, prized gem from russia's ural mountains and madagascar
melanite — black iron-rich andradite found in volcanic rocks near vesuvius, italy
topazolite — yellow-green transparent andradite discovered in the swiss alps near st. gotthard