Big rocks, small prices

[AustenNut]

What types of gemstones are the most affordable that come in BIG sizes? I''m talking at least 14x8 in a pear, 15x7 in a marquise, or 12x8 in an oval, and larger. These stones would need to be hardy enough for earrings or a pendant, but not necessarily a ring.

P.S. I did try searching the archives, but didn''t find any related topics.

 

[Indylady]

Most of the quartz family, including amethysts, citrines, and smokey quartz. How affordable are we talking?

 

[MakingTheGrade]

Agreed, the quartz family is a wallet friendly group

 

[jstarfireb]

Yup, I have 3 quartz stones of this size (ametrine, citrine, and prasiolite), and they were all extremely affordable. The first 2 were $15 each!

 

[Stone Hunter]

Sounds like you''ve got some ideas for a really cool project! Care to share them?

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 10/1/2009 8:03:36 PM
Author: MakingTheGrade
Agreed, the quartz family is a wallet friendly group

Plus they are easier to find in a larger size

 

[AustenNut]

Thanks for the suggestions so far! And Stone Hunter, you''re giving me too much credit at the moment. I''m one of those who research everything to death before finally coming up with a plan. I had started thinking about a magenta stone project for earrings & pendant, and that''s still a possibility. For that I''m still looking for a matched pair of large tourmalines/rubellites/rhodolites/tanga garnets that will cost me less than the $2500 pair of tourmalines that I love at Paraiba.

But basically, I''ve found with the rings that I already own, I never take them off. So I''m a bit wary of getting too many rings because I''ll either have one on each finger or may never wear them. I''ve bought a used garnet ring (it''s in the mail!) and an ebay stone I''ll turn into an inexpensive ring and see how I do with those before I start doing more expensive projects.

That leaves me with pendants and earrings, which I switch out a lot and would get a lot of use out of. But if I''m spending lots of money, I don''t want them to look tiny on me. So I want a bigger stone, but don''t have the budget to buy huge stones in something like, say, sapphire. Eventually I''d like to go beyond a pendant and do a multi-stone necklace like some of those posted in this thread.

As far as budget goes, I definitely don''t want to pay more than $500 for a stone, though preferably less than $300 (and the lower the price goes the better...$15 sounds fabulous!).


What do y''all think of these stones?

Fluorite (is this too soft to work with?)

Topaz

Beryls

Kunzite


And any other ideas?

 

[Barrett]

yep topaz, beryl, and kunzite are all good candidates for large stones..color would be the only key..you would pay a large amount for a stone that size if the color is r4eal good..so you will need to look towards pale or colorless stones..in general

 

[morecarats]

You''ve received some helpful answers thus far -- quartzes, topaz, fluorite, spodumene (e.g, kunzite) -- but I''m not sure you''ll find many of the beryls in large sizes at affordable prices. I have seen some nice golden beryl in larger sizes at prices around $15-20 a carat.

Here are a few more suggestions for you: jasper, agate, ruby-zoisite, rhodochrosite, chalcedony, labradorite, tiger''s eye, lapis lazuli, chrysoprase, sodalite, chrysocolla, larimar, bloodstone, amber, malachite, onyx, hematite, moonstone, sugilite, star ruby, star sapphire, carnelian, sunstone and turquoise.

Should keep you busy for a while

 

[ma re]

Apatite, chrome diopside, peridot, fire opal, iolite, sunstone...sorry if some are already mentioned. It would help if you''d choose a color

 

[AustenNut]

Wow, thanks for the many suggestions!

So, fluorite is durable enough for earrings and pendants? I didn''t know do the Mohs hardness level and whether or not a jeweler would actually be willing to work for it. Particularly since very little popped up when I searched fluorite in the PS archives, and y''all usually know everything related to jewelry.

Though I won''t say never, I prefer the clear faceted stones to some of the opaque, cabachon types (and I hope I just used all of those terms correctly

). As far as colors go, I prefer the pinks, greens, blues, and reds. Depending on what kind of jewelry gets made I might throw in some yellow. And of course, if a stone is cheap enough and catches my eye, I might just grab it too.

 

[chrono]

Date: 10/2/2009 2:24:41 AM
Author: morecarats
You've received some helpful answers thus far -- quartzes, topaz, fluorite, spodumene (e.g, kunzite) -- but I'm not sure you'll find many of the beryls in large sizes at affordable prices. I have seen some nice golden beryl in larger sizes at prices around $15-20 a carat.

Here are a few more suggestions for you: jasper, agate, ruby-zoisite, rhodochrosite, chalcedony, labradorite, tiger's eye, lapis lazuli, chrysoprase, sodalite, chrysocolla, larimar, bloodstone, amber, malachite, onyx, hematite, moonstone, sugilite, star ruby, star sapphire, carnelian, sunstone and turquoise.

Should keep you busy for a while

Morecarats,
Wouldn’t a 8x12 rhodochrosite cost more than $500?

 

[morecarats]

Chrono, I see nice South American rhodochrosite offered by reputable dealers at about $2.50 a carat. It''s quite inexpensive, even in large sizes.

 

[chrono]

Date: 10/2/2009 8:15:40 AM
Author: morecarats
Chrono, I see nice South American rhodochrosite offered by reputable dealers at about $2.50 a carat. It''s quite inexpensive, even in large sizes.

Wow! The ones I find are very expensive; in the thousand $ range.

 

[morecarats]

Chrono, are you sure we''re talking about the same stone? The gem I know as rhodochrosite is a rose colored manganese carbonate with distinctive variegated markings, hardness of 4 and usually found in aggregate form. Some of the rare mineral specimens from Colorado can command very high prices.

 

[chrono]

A picture tells a thousand words.

 

[chrono]

Here''s a 2 ct piece that''s over $1K.
http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=76&idproduct=1544

 

[chrono]

Picture of the stone linked to above.

 

[Barrett]

Rhodochrosite is a very expensive stone when faceted in large sizes..with like morecarats said the CO stuff fetching a premium as well as the South Africian material..very rarely have I ever seen a cut stone(faceted) over 5 cts...now cabbed stones are a dime a dozen..are you talking about cabbed stones or faceted, morecarats?

 

[morecarats]

Thanks for the reference, I think I can explain now.

Most of the rhodochrosite in the market is in aggregrate, not crystalline, form. It is inexpensive and usually cut as cabochons or carved. Most of this material comes from South America (Peru and Argentina).

The crystalline form is quite rare, and mainly found in the mines like the Sweet Home Mine in Colorado. It costs big bucks (if you can find it). But at that price point you have to wonder why you''re not buying a nice pink sapphire or spinel, since the rhodochrosite is so soft.

Chrono, thanks for making the effort to sort this out.

 

[Barrett]

Look at those yummy stones Chrono..hmmm..did you see the link to that one my buddy posted on ebay, chrono?..the sweet home 11ct flawless piece..it''s up to $650 and not even close to the reserve setting

 

[chrono]

Morecarats,
Thanks for your clarification. I thought you were referring to the faceted stones, but I now see that you meant cabbed or some other form which will be more affordable.
Am Guy,
I seem to have missed the link. Do you mind pointing me to it again?

 

[Barrett]

Jim is a master cutter and has almost cut this puppy a few times but I kept bugging him to post it for sale..if it doesn't sell i might pay a certain amount and trade some stones for it..sweet home material will be non-existant some day
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320427230954&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
and fotr some dang reason Jim won't get a good camera so his pics are crappy..that sucker would look identical to those cut stones you posted chrono..I am on the fence as to whether i should get it

 

[morecarats]

Date: 10/2/2009 3:13:25 AM
Author: ma re
Apatite, chrome diopside, peridot, fire opal, iolite, sunstone...sorry if some are already mentioned. It would help if you''d choose a color

Chrome diopside is an interesting suggestion. Though it''s quite soft, the color can be outstanding. The main problem with it as an answer to the original poster''s question is that it tends to get very dark in sizes over 2 carats. The wonderful deep green in 1 carat pieces so often turns to near black in 3 carat stones.

 

[Barrett]

Thanks for the info morecarats..I am getting some diopside in next week..don't know if it's chrome..it's pretty darn green though..so it gets pretty dark in large sizes? I will have to keep that in mind..

 

[morecarats]

All of the green diopside I''ve seen is colored by chromium. It''s often regarded as an inexpensive substitute for tsavorite or chrome tourmaline. Of course it has no where near the brilliance of tsavorite, but it is intensely green, almost too green. The saturation is so high that is gets very dark in larger stones. Expert cutting can help, but you can only go so far in defeating the laws of optics ...

 

[AustenNut]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! So to synthesize, this is what we''ve come up with:

Faceted/transparent stones

Quartz family (amethyst, citrine, rose, smoky, prasiolite, etc)

Fluorite

Topaz

Spodumene (kunzite)

labradorite

sodalite

sunstone

Beryls (but can get expensive in the larger sizes)


Cabbed/opaque stones

jasper

agate

ruby-zoisite

rhodochrosite (in cab, not faceted form)

chalcedony

tiger''s eye

lapis lazuli

chrysoprase

chrysocolla

larimar

bloodstone

amber

malachite

onyx

hematite

moonstone

sugilite

star ruby

star sapphire

carnelian

turquoise


Did I miscategorize any stones? Are there any others that should be added? Thanks!

 

[fierypyropixy]

I''m not sure if I missed someone commenting on the fluorite you asked about way up there, but I was under the impression that it was too delicate for a ring. Or, probably anything else. On the Moh''s scale it''s a 4 - softer than apatite which is a 5.

 

[AustenNut]

These big stones would only be used for earrings and/or pendants. Is fluorite too soft though? Is apatite?

 

[LD]

Date: 10/2/2009 7:39:09 AM
Author: Chrono

Date: 10/2/2009 2:24:41 AM
Author: morecarats
You''ve received some helpful answers thus far -- quartzes, topaz, fluorite, spodumene (e.g, kunzite) -- but I''m not sure you''ll find many of the beryls in large sizes at affordable prices. I have seen some nice golden beryl in larger sizes at prices around $15-20 a carat.

Here are a few more suggestions for you: jasper, agate, ruby-zoisite, rhodochrosite, chalcedony, labradorite, tiger''s eye, lapis lazuli, chrysoprase, sodalite, chrysocolla, larimar, bloodstone, amber, malachite, onyx, hematite, moonstone, sugilite, star ruby, star sapphire, carnelian, sunstone and turquoise.

Should keep you busy for a while

Morecarats,
Wouldn’t a 8x12 rhodochrosite cost more than $500?

Not to mention a star sapphire/ruby (without treatment)
A first class moonstone can also be $$$$$