Amethyst or Sapphire?

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Blue saphire is my birth stondme and i have several pieces but i would love a big purple amethyst to rock on my RH

 

[T L]

Another perk to having an amethyst over sapphire is that lapidaries can make all sorts of wonderful and ingenious cutting designs with them. With sapphire, they’re rarely ever recut or precision cut, and if so, you’re not going to get a large stone with a fancy precision cut design.

 

[PrecisionGem]

I’m assuming you mean to compare Amethyst with a purple sapphire?
The main differences are hardness, sapphire is corundum so it’s 9 on Mohos scale Whereas Amethyst is a form of Quartz with a hardness around 7.5.
Sapphire also has a higher refractive index so it sparkles” (returns light) better.
There is quite a huge difference is price and size availability. Large Amethyst crystals are very common and available in just about any carat weight you want for $10 or less a carat.
Sapphire crystals are rarer, much smaller and very much more expensive. A purple sapphire over 10 carats would cost many thousands of dollars, whereas a cut Amethyst gem of 10 carats, maybe $100.

Where are you finding nice amethyst for $10 per ct? If I were to buy a nice 30 ct rough to cut a 10 ct stone the rough would be more than $100.

 

[prs]

I was never a fan of ammys but I always wanted a big one like yours with what I call the Royal Purple color. Stunning. Alas, stones of that quality are not inexpensive and I could never justify the price for a semi precious gem and give it the high carat yellow gold setting it deserved. So I have to admire from afar... your pendant is stunning!

Africa Gems, who I don't consider to be low priced, have beautiful amethysts in all sizes at $60/ct or less.

 

[lambskin]

I’ll check them out. Thanks for the tip prs.

 

[peacechick]

I love amethysts. Their relevance throughout the medieval ages to Victorian times make them romantic to me. Garnets too. I wouldn’t mind if they were my birthstone, I’d have a parure made!

But my birthstone is peridot, which I have tried to love but do not at all. Which is why I was so happy when Spinel was added, because I will happily wear spinel on every finger and lobe!

 

[Mreader]

Another perk to having an amethyst over sapphire is that lapidaries can make all sorts of wonderful and ingenious cutting designs with them. With sapphire, they’re rarely ever recut or precision cut, and if so, you’re not going to get a large stone with a fancy precision cut design.

I found this thread looking up precision amethyst and I like this observation that @T L makes because I wanted a hexagon shaped stone but something that was affordable. I ended up with this amethyst and I really love its lavender color. It is in the process of being set right now.

 

[emeraldhummingbird]

Sapphires are more durable but I have a soft spot for amethysts. They show that a stone doesn't need to be expensive to be beautiful!

Here is my amethyst that I was admiring under my bathroom lights yesterday. It was only about $45

https://imgur.com/a/bYkIcQT