Andradite

specimen number:
1052650

location:
Wurlitz, Rehau, Hof, Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany

description:
Lustrous green slightly translucent crystals of andradite, this is the variety known as demantoid, measuring to 0.8 cm in size on matrix. Classic old locality for this material. In good condition. The specimen comes with an antique label as shown at the end of the video. This label gives an original acquisition date of 1914.

Wurlitz, a district within the municipality of Rehau in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, is geologically situated within the Munchberg Gneiss Massif, an area noted for its diverse metamorphic rocks. The locality is famous for its occurrences of andradite garnet, specifically the rare green variety known as demantoid, which formed within serpentinite bodies through the hydrothermal alteration of ultramafic rocks during the Variscan orogeny. Historically, mining and quarrying in the Wurlitz area were primarily focused on the extraction of serpentinite for use as a decorative building stone and for local road construction, with small-scale industrial activities documented throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While never a large-scale commercial source for gemstones, the site became a classic mineralogical locality for collectors due to the discovery of small, vivid green demantoid crystals embedded in the dark serpentinite matrix.

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