Joel Aram wrote an excellent article about demantoid garnets, he noted in it that demantoid is one of the rarest forms of garnet, I have always been under the impression that demandroid was THE rarest form of garnet, are any types of garnet rarer than demantoid garnet?
Tia
David Saad
Demantoid is in the top three, and was discovered in 1898. Green garnets in general are valued more than others.
Blue color change garnets are more rare, and have only been recently reported/described in 2017, as a result there has been more time for demantoids to circulate on the market.
According to some sources, the rarest garnet is white/colorless. However, I have not been able to determine when they were first described/discovered.
There also appears to be “watermelon” bi-color Hydrogrossular garnets.
You would have to define your term “rarest” a little more to get a cogent answer. Demantoid is rare, but the rarest demantoid is the prime color one, now that demantoid of less than prime color is found outside Russia. Also, it tends to come in small sizes, so large demantoid of prime color is quite rare. The same would be true of large size, prime color (grass green) tsavorite, or color change garnet (blue-red). Rare and expensive are not the same thing, as demand has something to do with price as much as rarity does. Andalusite is pretty rare, too, but it isn’t so sought after.
Thanks RoyJohn
I should have been more specific of course.
I think that one must look at ‘top quality’ goods, 8.5-9/10 or better.
However, you make a great point about SIZE!
I’ve bought and sold countless 3ct+ very fine quality tsavorite, and at least 25-30 5ct+ very fine tsavorites.
However, I’ve never even seen a 5ct+ top colour Russian Demantoid with horsetail and I’ve only seen one of colorless garnet and it was not terribly impressive being below 1ct and fairly included…
I think that ‘like for like’ is fair. 1ct, fine colour, very good clarity (or horsetail) 8.5/10 or better
Hi Skyjems,
I’m not an expert on all the facet rough sold internationally, but I would guess that a 5+ct demantoid would be a lot rarer and more expensive than a 5+ct tsavorite. Whether it would be rarer than an equal sized color change garnet is anybody’s guess. With the world situation being what it is now, getting a demantoid out of Russia might not be that easy, either. However, any 5+ct stone you found might be old stock anyway…all of this is way out of my price range, so I don’t know much about it. I know a jeweler or two who handle this kind of stone and I’d query them if I needed info on this…historic auction prices would be your best guide, I think.
I read somewhere, a nice blue to red color change garnet went for $1.5 million a carat, in 2003, the rarest of anything is never easy to define, Uvarovite garnet over a carat would take some finding, but Demantiod, Trasvorite or Uvarovite, the solid greens seem to do pretty well, compared to most of the other colors.
The rarest I have ever worked with was a very fine white garnet incorporated into a multi-gem pendant in Platinum. It was a radiant cut 0.98ct piece, paired with a Blue Zircon and a Tanzanite.
I personally prefer the color-changing garnets discovered in 2017, but I love color!
https://www.facebook.com/RevolutionJewelryWorks/photos/1753736734799224
Gawd damn!
Sorry, but I have to poke this wasps nest, is that Leuco Garnet white, or colorless? 
I agree with Royjohn. Ive always known demantoid to be the rarest especially thise from Ural Mtns in Russia. I have a few extremely beautiful AAA ones but not from Russia.
