shape
carat
color
clarity

Looking for a very special amethyst - need your guidance

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
Good day to all of you, wonderful, knowledgeable people. I am at the point where I need your guidance. For quite some time now, I’ve been looking high and low for my birthstone rock. I was born in February, and my birthstone is amethyst. The problem is that I hate most amethyst I see! I hate the washed out, barely pinkish lavender, diluted, flat look of it. Please, no offense to anyone else who loves it, it’s just me...So I’ve been looking for a Siberian to the max color, with magenta and green flashes, with its spectacular saturated purple/violet... Nothing local, but when I look on the Internet, I get so confused, and realize that I can’t choose anything just from the pictures. Nothing looks quite right.
Then, there are settings. So hard to find what I like. Don’t know where to look, looked on Stuller website, but didn’t see anything I liked.

Now the visuals...I am looking for the color like it is depicted in the first picture. I’m looking for a setting similar to the second (may be third) picture. Where do I look? I would be eternally grateful for any ideas or sources of reliable vendors and sellers of both gems and settings... THANK YOU...
 

Attachments

  • D8459846-B764-4BE6-AE1D-A03B99ADA6ED.jpeg
    D8459846-B764-4BE6-AE1D-A03B99ADA6ED.jpeg
    136.1 KB · Views: 64
  • 0A34C2A7-2F51-49D6-8FBB-5259702759D3.jpeg
    0A34C2A7-2F51-49D6-8FBB-5259702759D3.jpeg
    783.3 KB · Views: 39
  • 7CBF186E-A033-4DD6-9B8F-2FD13C9263B9.jpeg
    7CBF186E-A033-4DD6-9B8F-2FD13C9263B9.jpeg
    500 KB · Views: 44

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
You want African material as much amethyst, even dark material, is a flat grape or purple without those red flashes. Make sure whomever you buy from realizes this. You also don’t want anything so dark, it almost looks black. Here’s old mine Zambian material. It also color shifts to a more bluish color in sunlight. It also has red flashes and is not too dark. People confuse super dark amethyst with Siberian quality, but this stone is not too dark.

As for vendors, it’s hard to find decent material these days. I know people might mention Jeff Davies, but he cuts a lot of Brazilian material which tends to be flatter in color.

I’m a huge fan of African material, even more than the JXR mine that some people tout.

Check moregems.com. He may have some Rwandan material left. It’s amazing! The problem is that it’s very large, maybe he can custom cut you something. Only buy from very trusted people who know their rough, as synthetic amethyst is all over the place and looks Siberian.
 

Attachments

  • 6C70DDB4-27BB-459E-AE99-A62A8AC5F7BA.jpeg
    6C70DDB4-27BB-459E-AE99-A62A8AC5F7BA.jpeg
    1.1 MB · Views: 37
Last edited:

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
You want African material as much amethyst, even dark material, is a flat grape or purple without those red flashes. Make sure whomever you buy from realizes this. You also don’t want anything so dark, it almost looks black. Here’s old mine Zambian material. It also color shifts to a more bluish color in sunlight. It also has red flashes and is not too dark. People confuse super dark amethyst with Siberian quality, but this stone is not too dark.

As for vendors, it’s hard to find decent material these days. I know people might mention Jeff Davies, but he cuts a lot of Brazilian material which tends to be flatter in color.

I’m a huge fan of African material, even more than the JXR mine that some people tout.

Check moregems.com. He may have some Rwandan material left. It’s amazing!
What is your opinion on Four Peaks amethysts? I’ve never seen it in person...
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
What is your opinion on Four Peaks amethysts? I’ve never seen it in person...
I like it better than JXR, but it’s bern mined out from what I hear. The new Rwandan material is to die for though!!
 

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
I like it better than JXR, but it’s bern mined out from what I hear. The new Rwandan material is to die for though!!
Thank you, I’ll check out moregems.
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
It looks like the best four peaks material isn’t available when you see flat looking gems like this!!!

141B8B77-E9F7-4B92-9C7F-83F935A50460.png
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
T L, it’s beautiful indeed. Hopefully, it’s not treated/heated?
Heating is acceptable to lighten up some gems. Moregems discloses treatment. They have both heated and unheated Rwandan material.
 

Bron357

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Jan 22, 2014
Messages
6,532
Hi, just be aware that amethyst can photograph differently to viewing in real life. This is mine, it’s a lovely deeper tone but it looks better in a photograph than real life. And it’s under incandescent that I get the “reddish” flashes. So choose a vendor who allows return for refund if it isn’t to your liking. 56DFAA5C-CA01-4B49-B6CD-779570BB4F77.jpeg 15514AAC-BB9D-4AC0-BCBC-474EE9F945C5.jpeg
 

polarisfire

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 27, 2019
Messages
75
Check out Brad at The Gem Trader. He just posted a nice Zambian amethyst a couple weeks ago as part of his October new stock and I ended up emailing to see if he had more. He had a pair and a few singles left after I ordered some ;-) If you email him he might still have them!

I've seen some nice Uruguay amethyst online as well, but I've not seen it in real life.
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
Check out Brad at The Gem Trader. He just posted a nice Zambian amethyst a couple weeks ago as part of his October new stock and I ended up emailing to see if he had more. He had a pair and a few singles left after I ordered some ;-) If you email him he might still have them!

I've seen some nice Uruguay amethyst online as well, but I've not seen it in real life.
Uruguay material can be very nice, but I’ve seen flat looking material as well. Many years ago I ordered a large dark Uruguayan amethyst. It was dark, but no red flash or color shift. I ended up selling it to a coworker who loved it.
 

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
Check out Brad at The Gem Trader. He just posted a nice Zambian amethyst a couple weeks ago as part of his October new stock and I ended up emailing to see if he had more. He had a pair and a few singles left after I ordered some ;-) If you email him he might still have them!

I've seen some nice Uruguay amethyst online as well, but I've not seen it in real life.
Do you have your stones yet? I would love to see pictures.
 

Rose-gold-or-bust

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 7, 2019
Messages
314
Hi, just be aware that amethyst can photograph differently to viewing in real life. This is mine, it’s a lovely deeper tone but it looks better in a photograph than real life. And it’s under incandescent that I get the “reddish” flashes. So choose a vendor who allows return for refund if it isn’t to your liking. 56DFAA5C-CA01-4B49-B6CD-779570BB4F77.jpeg 15514AAC-BB9D-4AC0-BCBC-474EE9F945C5.jpeg

I was going to say the same thing. What you see in photos all comes down to lighting and background color.
 

AV_

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Aug 5, 2018
Messages
3,889
#7530 & #2014 from WWW, then WWW...

2c
 
Last edited:

MissyBeaucoup

Brilliant_Rock
Premium
Joined
Mar 10, 2017
Messages
1,124
You might try D & J Rare Gems. They are based in Colorado.
 

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
What are your opinions about this one?
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20191107-154531.png
    Screenshot_20191107-154531.png
    87.9 KB · Views: 44

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
Same one as above
 

Attachments

  • F07A71BA-8392-4ABF-980B-0D076ED67B48.png
    F07A71BA-8392-4ABF-980B-0D076ED67B48.png
    893.9 KB · Views: 38
  • 0627CE79-D2C8-4E89-BBD7-4D4CB960D91F.png
    0627CE79-D2C8-4E89-BBD7-4D4CB960D91F.png
    882.1 KB · Views: 40

Rfisher

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Oct 19, 2013
Messages
5,485
The shadow from the glove fingers on the wood table tell you how much directed strong light was needed to show the color in the stone.
Here is some good eye candy

Have you looked at The Gemstone Project (Etsy) and Earths Treasury?
I think they both have stones that maybe might interest you - worth checking out for more info. They may also have more stock not listed - ask.
 
Last edited:

krissy7

Shiny_Rock
Joined
Aug 22, 2013
Messages
121
I have a Four Peaks Amethyst and really like the color. I think the mine must still be open because there is a jewelry retailer in Arizona called Sami Fine Jewelry that arranges tours of the mine. Best of luck with your search!
 

polarisfire

Rough_Rock
Joined
Aug 27, 2019
Messages
75
Pictures of the zambian material from the gem trader taken in my kitchen at night.
 

Attachments

  • E5D30E48-7A9F-44F5-B885-2A65BE6790DE.jpeg
    E5D30E48-7A9F-44F5-B885-2A65BE6790DE.jpeg
    228.2 KB · Views: 44
  • FA953BFC-3CB7-4797-9609-FC1AC531BD0A.jpeg
    FA953BFC-3CB7-4797-9609-FC1AC531BD0A.jpeg
    223.1 KB · Views: 39

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
I have a Four Peaks Amethyst and really like the color. I think the mine must still be open because there is a jewelry retailer in Arizona called Sami Fine Jewelry that arranges tours of the mine. Best of luck with your search!

It could still be open, but sometimes what happens is that the best material is already mined out.
 

lambskin

Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
3,049
I too have been on the hunt for that same color of ammy. I call it royal purple. Not a fan of the light stuff. I have seen ammy on my travels to Brasil, India, Korea and still have not seen my stone. Now I am a bit weary as it is a semi precious stone and not really rare but any stone that I seem interested in is really expensive. And I heard that there is heat treated citrine that turns purple and is called an ammy. Good luck with your search-I can't wait to see what you buy.
 

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
Thanks everyone! What are your opinions about this one?
 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
1) no gem should be evaluated on a dark background. Can they show it to you in a lighter background?

2) is this a trustworthy vendor who knows their source? Otherwise it could be synthetic. If it’s moregems, they’re trustworthy.
 

Sungura

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Mar 27, 2015
Messages
585
@SunshineCrystal have you checked with Rioux Rocks? He often has Rwandan amethysts. If you google Rioux Rocks you will find his Facebook and Instagram pages
 

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
Yes, more
1) no gem should be evaluated on a dark background. Can they show it to you in a lighter background?

2) is this a trustworthy vendor who knows their source? Otherwise it could be synthetic. If it’s moregems, they’re trustworthy.

Yes, moregems.
 

SunshineCrystal

Rough_Rock
Joined
Feb 10, 2019
Messages
19
It could still be open, but sometimes what happens is that the best material is already mined out.

TL,
What is your opinion on Four Peaks amethysts? I’ve never seen it in person...

TL, I did contact moregems and they said they have some Rwanda checkerboard cut gems left. They couldn’t answer many of my questions and don’t seem know who cut them or whether they were treated on not. Can they be trusted that this material is actually Rwanda material and not something else?

 

T L

Super_Ideal_Rock
Premium
Joined
Sep 20, 2008
Messages
25,156
TL,


TL, I did contact moregems and they said they have some Rwanda checkerboard cut gems left. They couldn’t answer many of my questions and don’t seem know who cut them or whether they were treated on not. Can they be trusted that this material is actually Rwanda material and not something else?


Usually they’re cut by the lapidary over there. I’m not sure, sorry!!!!
 
Be a part of the community Get 3 HCA Results
Top