Jumbo Amethyst by Richard Homer

[iLander]

So I saw this on ebay, anybody have any idea what to do with this huge honking stone?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 500wt_1154

If link doesn't work, search 18.57 Amethyst on ebay.

It's large, even for my taste. Paperweight?

But it is a great deal for a Richard Homer Concave Cut, so I'm intrigued.

I wanted to mention it so at least an appreciative PSer could give it a good home.

 

[chrono]

Brooch? Pendant (although the depth might cause flipping)? Tiara stone? Scepter stone? Paperweight?
It only says that it is custom concave cut so I’m not sure where you saw that it was cut by Richard Homer?

 

[iLander]

That's odd, under description, this is what I see:

"Cut by Richard Homer Head of GIA color strong institute

Won the Spectrum Award"

I wonder if it's not coming across on all screens?

Seeing the post on the "weapon versus jewelry" it must be jumbo gem day on PS!

 

[chrono]

I wonder if it’s really cut by Richard Homer because the card he mailed with the specifications of my amethysts looks different. It is a fancier coloured card with the name of his company (Concavegems) printed on it, Perhaps the owner misplaced the card and has to create a new one for the sale?

 

[VapidLapid]

Drawer pull!
Too bad the photos are so poor and the card is lacking any identifying authority. In the absence of a letterhead, Chrono, I am wondering if the handwriting at least matches the card that came with yours?

 

[VapidLapid]

I am very suspicious about this being cut by RH regardless of what the listing says. He also provides a registry number with his stones and that has conveniently not been transcribed in th ersatz card shown. RH charges in the 1,100. - 1,400. dollar range for a heated (!) amethyst in the 5 carat range. The $75. "buy it now" makes it seem unlikely, but who knows?

 

[chrono]

I pulled up my RH card and it’s a laminated sort of marbled gray paper with typed information. The only thing that is handwritten is his signature in blue ink. You are also correct that he provides a registry number for his gems which is listed on the same card. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words so I’m attaching my ID paper here. I have also purchased a blue zircon from RH but it never came with this fancy paper but I did get the white diamond paper with the stats listed on it. It was purchased much earlier though so perhaps RH had not started this practice yet. As for the handwriting, I’ll leave it up to others to decide if they are similar enough. Perhaps the current owner needs some money now, hence the hugely discounted sale?

 

[Arkteia]

I always thought Richard Homer will end up on Sotheby's, not on ebay...

 

[VapidLapid]

Thanks for all that info Chrono! Honestly all one can determine from this is whether the cards were written by the same hand. It apppears to me that they were not. The points that lead me to that conclusion The capital "e" in "amEthyst" in one that is lower-case in the other, the "8" in one that is a continuous line where in the other it is a stack of two "0"s, in one the amethyst has a cursive "y" and in the other it is a sharper, printed "y". I guess it is time to ask the seller a question like what the RH registry number is, and if they dont have it why they believe it was cut by him.
If real it is a great price!

 

[VapidLapid]

Well you never know where a stone is going to end up. Could be an estate cleaning out after a death and they're just dumping everything out quickly. Many possible scenarios, still I am suspicous, or rather I have suspicions.

 

[iLander]

I'm figuring that they've had it forever, since they list Richard as the head of GIA something or other. He's not still the head of that, right? Maybe he was a long time ago?

I mentioned on another thread that I sell on ebay, but please note, this is Not my listing. I sell antiques and collectibles (not a plug, my PS name is not similar to my ebay name at all), so anything anybody wants to say about the stone won't offend me at all. I don't know this seller at all.

I just thought might be an opportunity for somebody looking for a fan pull or lamp finial

I'm kidding. I'm actually considering it for my aunt, who is a voluptuously proportioned lady who would look good with a larger pendant.

I'm debating if I like her that much . . .

 

[CaraMish]

I'm inclined to be extremely skeptical, especially since ebay has a plethora of large concave cut natural and synthetic gems, esp. concave cut hydrothermal amethyst. However, the writing looks extremely similar to the handwriting on the gem packages of gems I've purchased from Richard Homer. Also, the gem paper does have "registry number" on it, although the registry number does not seem to be written on the paper.

 

[AustenNut]

Did someone get it? It's been sold under BIN.

 

[iLander]

I saw that too.

I hope it was a PSer, so that we can see some decent pictures of it!

 

[Fly Girl]

Well, I picked up this stone on BIN, and it arrived in the mail today. A very pretty amethyst, but not as deep purple as my Zambian material. It looks similar to my JXR stones, but perhaps a shade less blue. I'm thinking of a pendant for it. Maybe to wear with my JXR studs. I'd love to take it along to a Richard Homer round-table and show it to him. That would be awesome, and probably the easiest way to confirm authenticity. The seller says it was a gift to him from close friend about 10 years ago. The card that came with the stone is definitely yellowed with age. Thanks, iLander, for the heads up.

Anyhow, on to some pictures.

 

[Fly Girl]

More shots. I've got a combination of daylight and incandescent lighting here. The yellow reflections would be from the incandescent light. I tried to include a pavillion shot and one showing the cut of the table.

 

[Fly Girl]

A shot with the paper that came with the stone. I also added a shot with my JXR amethyst earring. You can see there is more blue in the JXR. The paper is yellowed with age. The back reads "Richard Homer, Head GIA Color Stong Instructor, Won Spectrum Award".

 

[Fly Girl]

Front and back of the card.

 

[Fly Girl]

On the hand in the sun along with my sunstone ring. The bubbles you see on the SW quadrant are just from where it is sticking to my fingers. Yes, it is a big stone.

 

[RockHugger]

That looks like a file-a-gem file...I have 50 pf those...not hard to get and put whatever I want on it.

Pretty ammy though, whoever cut it.

 

[iLander]

Here's an easy way to settle this: why don't you email Richard Homer, give him the registry number and see what he says? I suspect he is the type of guy to keep a record of all his stones, no matter how far back.

I think it is a Richard Homer, based on the weird table shape. I don't think an imitator would take the time to cut it such a fancy top.

What are your plans for it FlyGirl?

 

[iLander]

Here's an easy way to settle this: why don't you email Richard Homer, give him the registry number and see what he says? I suspect he is the type of guy to keep a record of all his stones, no matter how far back.

I think it is a Richard Homer, based on the weird table shape. I don't think an imitator would take the time to cut it such a fancy top.

 

[Fly Girl]

Here's an easy way to settle this: why don't you email Richard Homer, give him the registry number and see what he says? I suspect he is the type of guy to keep a record of all his stones, no matter how far back.

I think it is a Richard Homer, based on the weird table shape. I don't think an imitator would take the time to cut it such a fancy top.

What are your plans for it FlyGirl?

There's no registry number on the paper. I'm thinking it would make a really neat pendant. It really catches a light and gives a lot of flash.

I asked the seller why they sold it for so little compared to the $750 on the paper, and they said they needed the money.

 

[iLander]

I think it would make an awesome solitaire, actually. For your middle finger (no crude joke intended here).

I have a big (10x14)amethyst that I wear on the middle finger, and if you remember, I got an 11mm citrine from Richard. They look proportionate on my size 8 finger. I wear them for when I'm in a casual fun mood, and they're both solitaires. Just a thought.

Are you thinking just a plain setting for the pendant? You could check Tripps for one that might fit. Or maybe a pearl enhancer?

Lordy, what would happen if you halo'ed it?

 

[chrono]

It has a very fancy table which makes it prettier. I like the idea of bringing it to one of Richard's round tables to ask if he believes he cut that amethyst in the past.

 

[Fly Girl]

I think it would make an awesome solitaire, actually. For your middle finger (no crude joke intended here).

I have a big (10x14)amethyst that I wear on the middle finger, and if you remember, I got an 11mm citrine from Richard. They look proportionate on my size 8 finger. I wear them for when I'm in a casual fun mood, and they're both solitaires. Just a thought.

Are you thinking just a plain setting for the pendant? You could check Tripps for one that might fit. Or maybe a pearl enhancer?

Lordy, what would happen if you halo'ed it?

Thank you for the ideas. I already have a large amethyst (12.5 x 10.5 mm) ring made with a mastercutgems 5.34 ct Zambian and chrome green tourmaline sides. It is plenty big. Picture below.

My local jeweler does great simple settings at a good price. That is definitely a possibility.

I don't have many pearls. They are pretty, I get them and wear them once, and that's about it.

I'll have to think about the halo thing. I have always preferred bezels.

 

[chictomato]

I think it would make an awesome solitaire, actually. For your middle finger (no crude joke intended here).

I have a big (10x14)amethyst that I wear on the middle finger, and if you remember, I got an 11mm citrine from Richard. They look proportionate on my size 8 finger. I wear them for when I'm in a casual fun mood, and they're both solitaires. Just a thought.

Are you thinking just a plain setting for the pendant? You could check Tripps for one that might fit. Or maybe a pearl enhancer?

Lordy, what would happen if you halo'ed it?

Thank you for the ideas. I already have a large amethyst (12.5 x 10.5 mm) ring made with a mastercutgems 5.34 ct Zambian and chrome green tourmaline sides. It is plenty big. Picture below.

My local jeweler does great simple settings at a good price. That is definitely a possibility.

I don't have many pearls. They are pretty, I get them and wear them once, and that's about it.

I'll have to think about the halo thing. I have always preferred bezels.

Very pretty ring (love the proportion)

Do you mind sharing the specs of chrome tourmaline? TIA!

I have a pair of round tsavorite garnets meant for my earring project. Now you have got me into this purple-green combo ring idea!!

 

[Fly Girl]

Very pretty ring (love the proportion)

Do you mind sharing the specs of chrome tourmaline? TIA!

I have a pair of round tsavorite garnets meant for my earring project. Now you have got me into this purple-green combo ring idea!!

Thank you, chictomato. I have a thread for my amethyst and chrome tourmaline 3 stone here.

www.pricescope.com/forum/colored-stones/new-amethyst-ring-t132146

The chrome tourmaline rounds are 5 mm and are from GemRite. They are currently still up on his website. http://www.gemrite.com/cubecart/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=10

 

[chictomato]

Thanks for the reply Flygirl! Though the 1st link is not working

 

[Fly Girl]

Well, I picked up this stone on BIN, and it arrived in the mail today. A very pretty amethyst, but not as deep purple as my Zambian material. It looks similar to my JXR stones, but perhaps a shade less blue. I'm thinking of a pendant for it. Maybe to wear with my JXR studs. I'd love to take it along to a Richard Homer round-table and show it to him. That would be awesome, and probably the easiest way to confirm authenticity. The seller says it was a gift to him from close friend about 10 years ago. The card that came with the stone is definitely yellowed with age. Thanks, iLander, for the heads up.

Anyhow, on to some pictures.

Last night I attended a Richard Homer round-table at T Lee's. I took along the amethyst to show him, and got his answer about this stone.

Richard's first reaction was that it was his work from many years ago, and that's why it looked a bit different than the unique cuts he does now. He said he'd have to check his registry number to be sure. Then, he looked a little closer and saw there was no registry number, and the stone didn't quite look like the sort of color of ammy he would cut, and the stone wasn't the sort of shape he'd cut. And then...he figured it out.

Back in the day he used to do a lot of recuts of poorly cut stones. He figures there are maybe 1,000 stones out there like this one. He probably did a recut for a jeweler who then jacked the price up to $750 (that figure is not in Richard's handwriting, and is not a price he would charge for this stone). He pointed out that he was stuck trying to conserve as much weight as possible, hence he was limited by the stone's original girdle, crown height and pavillon angles. He was a bit annoyed that this was being marketed as a Richard Homer cut stone, although it certainly is, because it doesn't reflect the quality of work he wants associated with his name. He said this is why he quit doing recuts a number of years ago. In any case, he told me that the amount I paid for this stone on eBay is less than what he would charge for a recut, so I did o.k. purchasing it.

I don't have any plans for setting this stone at the moment, but I thought you guys would enjoy hearing this story.