12.91 Ct Sphalerite - worth it?

[rparker1998]

I am in negotiations with a well known e-bay seller for a 12.91 ct Sphalerite. I know this piece is EXTREMELY soft, and has 6 degree's of clevage and most jewelers won't touch it. However, I'm still intriqued by its' rarity and its beauty. I just don't want to over pay for what it is.

Hopefully this link works, but here is the ebay link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0352837308

I am thinking of setting this in a bezel pendent....something I would only wear on special occasions due to its fragileness.

What would be a fair price for this stone?

 

[T L]

You would be hard pressed to find a jeweler who could set it, and even wiping it down with anything will scratch it. The stone is very included, and the whole point of sphalerite is to find ones that are not so included, to show off their amazing light refraction. I personally would not buy it as I think it's just not a very nice specimen.

Here's one that's bigger, and less money, although just as included. He has some cleaner ones too.

http://www.thegemtrader.com/May%202005% ... 20Page.htm

 

[rparker1998]

Thanks for the feedback TL; I wasn't going to pay anywhere near that price that they ebay poster was offering. I think I will pass on this stone for now....especially as I look at my ebay total for the last month! LOL...so addicting.

 

[T L]

Just for reference, here's a very nice example of a sphalerite, and I like that it has a little yellow in it, the multicolor effect, and is a bit lighter in tone, to show off the dispersion. I've heard good things about this vendor, although I have never puchased anything from them and have yet to check out their toolhaus.org reviews. They have a ton of sphalerites, and one thing is obvious, the very included stones are far less $$$ than the clean ones. Still a good price if you negotiate on a very clean and large collector's stone.

http://cgi.ebay.com/FREAKINGCAT-11-95-c ... 205wt_1137

It's a pity these stones are so soft, they are incredible to look at. I swear, it's the only gem in my entire collection that is over a carat that I can see no discernable tilt window due to the very high RI. It is an amazing gem, and would be worth much much more if it was hard.

 

[rparker1998]

That is a very pretty stone. I will bookmark that seller for future purusing. After this round of ebay auctions i'm done for a bit...or else hubby will not be very pleased....

 

[chrono]

I am glad you are passing on it. It looks well coloured in the photography because the vendor is shining a strong light on it. This is why it looks brown and dark in the video which is probably the true colour. The inclusions appear very noticeable and I doubt any jeweller will even want to touch it, pendant setting or otherwise.

 

[LD]

When you look for sphalerite think volcanic lava. You should see oranges, reds, yellows etc. The one you posted was too flat looking in colour and much too brown. Most Sphalerites of that size will have inclusions but try to find one with as few as possible - sometimes it's a trade off with the colour!

One more thing - don't even think about bezelling! The pressure of folding the bezel over the stone may be enough to crack it.

This is one of mine. I bought this for the colour. It's 4.10ct and the inclusions aren't as obvious in real life.