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Beginning a search for amethyst

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milton333

Brilliant_Rock
Joined
Nov 8, 2007
Messages
637
I'm looking for an amethyst stone for sentimental reasons, it was the first gemstone gift from my DH. Not sure if it will be a ring or a pendant at this point. Looking for at least 10mm diameter, more concerned with color than any particular shape.

I'm trying to get a feel for what I should be looking for at the beginning of my search. For example, I find things to love about all of the amethysts posted below, but need to narrow in on what I should be looking for so that I can follow up for more pictures of just a few. Can anyone share thoughts on whether any of these have potential?

amethyst_1.jpg

amethyst_2.jpg

amethyst_3.jpg

amethyst_4.jpg
 
A few more.

amethyst_5.jpg

amethyst_6.jpg

amethyst_7.jpg

amethyst_8.jpg
 
Milton,

Glad to see another poster who likes the red flash amethyst. These tend to come from Africa (Uruguay and the like). Just as an FYI, amethyst is a gentle wear stone and 10 mm means it is huge and more likely to get knocked about in a ring.

Ammy 1 and 2 have a very dark body colour with good flash. I would prefer a slightly lighter body colour that still shows good flash. Cut is just average, not really well done.
I can barely make out the body colour of ammy 3 as it has gone beyond dark in tone.
Ammy 4 hits the sweet spot in terms of colouration and cut looks good too.
Ammy 5 has potential too.
Ammy 6 looks fuzzy in the middle and there's this ring of darkness. Could be the camera shadow though.
Forget about ammy 7 with the giant window and overly dark tone.
Would like to see a straight view of ammy 8.

14.78 ct amethyst: well coloured purple but "plain"
13.08 ct amethyst: a touch of pink.

Most prefer amethysts with either a touch of red, blue or both. I'm not keen on something with pink as it means the stone is too light in tone. Both amethysts you showed are too light in tone, yet the first 8 you linked (with the exception of 2 or so) are overly dark.
 
This would not be a frequent wear piece of jewelry, and I'm still considering a pendant. I'm looking for a statement piece that I would wear for "date nights" with DH, not all the time.

Thanks for the input, amethyst #4 is from the Four Peaks mine, 12x14 mm. Toward the upper end of my price range, but I will put it on the short list. Any concerns about the performance of an emerald cut in an amethyst? Is that likely to cause any color zoning issues or diminish any flash or fire? I have a lot of emerald cuts posted, but just because the color in the pics appealed to me, no particular attachment to that shape.

If anyone has any other recommendations, I'd love to see them, too. Thanks!
 
Four Peaks material can match the famed Siberian amethyst with the red flash. The only downside is that most are on the smaller side and tend to be colour zoned. Don't let such generalities put you off though as the one you showed looks good. I think you'll be fine with an emerald cut as the darker body colour will mask any tilt windows from the low RI. It is true though that simpler step cut means less flash compared to a round, but that flash will also be larger when it happens.
 
Someone here bought ammy 4 about a year ago. Vendor sent two other stones for buyer to consider. She hated all of them and felt the photos were not representative. I believe ammy 4 had only a tiny color zone that filled the stone only in the one pictured orientation; from all other perspectives the stone was blech. she returned them all, but had trouble with them on the return. I think they were nasty to her and abusive telling her she didn't know what she was talking about.
 
nuff said...JXR baby :bigsmile: :sun:

ammy.jpg
 
From your pics, I like the first stone, but personally, I prefer darker purple amethysts, like those found in Zambia.

yam037ap.jpg
 
I think this one is lovely, from Jeff Davies. Here's his description:

6.61ct Amethyst - Uruguay.
12.10 x 8.63 mm
eye clean, nice cut, spectacular color!
$145 shipped


I guess the only thing, that is quite deep - not sure if this is an issue, for a pendant, or if any of the bigger stones will probably be deep, too. Someone more knowledgeable than I am could chime in on that.

64512_10151505196344357_1108533805_n.jpg
 
NKOTB,
Looks like a well cut and coloured amethyst. How's the video?
 
Looks like the video shows more blue flash than red. The picture looked promising!
 
I think I've narrowed it down to the one above and this one below. Any votes one way or the other?

amethyst_11.jpg
 
The pear looks to have some blackish areas. Do you have a straight on view of the trilliant?
 
It looks like a window on that pear.
 
Hard to say for sure. The pear is tilted and amethyst is a low RI stone so it could be a tilt window.
 
Good point. The window only goes to upper part of the gem. I thought it was straight on.
 
Head-on and backside of the trillion. It's Zambian.

The pear is from a respected vendor, I can follow up with additional pictures if it seems worth pursuing.

amethyst_11a.png

amethyst_11b.png
 
Let's be fair to both vendors; can they and will they do a hand shot? I am a touch concerned about how much darkness I'm seeing. I would like to verify if it is the stone or shadow from the camera.

Can you also provide the L x W x D mm measurement? The trilliant looks unusually deep which might be an issue for a pendant or ring.
 
It looks dark in the video.

Size - 12 x 7.10 mm
 
Heh I just bought a precision cut lovely amythest that is 10 x 12 and realizing its Way too big for me lol. Wish I had known you were looking, would have linked you! Lol.
 
Please look through Jeff Davies' listings again. He has several ammies for sale and clearly has rough he can access.

Also, neither the pear nor the trillion appeals to me for cut - a little dull no pun intended. Also don't let the trillion's darker tone fool you for saturation, as this one does not seem as saturated (notice slight brownish cast to the stone) as the others you have previously shown.
 
Just had another look and the cutting on the trillion is good.
 
You can reach out to Richard Homer for some really lovely Uruguay amethyst with strong red flash done in traditional flat faceting. Prices are a bit high but the pair I received were well coloured (not too dark and the saturation is great).
 
While still waiting for "the one" to come along on the cut stone front, I accidentally bought some rough ;)

Any thoughts on whether this is promising? A bit over 20 cts. If it's not "the stone," I would still probably do earrings with this, but I think I may have something here. In one of these pictures, I color corrected to show the more red-purple tone that I see in incandescent lighting - it's got the redder tone on my camera, but coming up more blue on my computer monitor. There's definitely blue in this stone.

2013-03-19_22.jpg

2013-03-19_0.jpg

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Well it certainly looks to be a rich and vibrant color, but judging rough as you know is hard to do. I would definitely get the photos off to a faceter to see what they think and then let them have a go at it. It looks promising enough, but there are things that we mere mortals cannot see nor truly evaluate which is why you need the opinions of the pros. Can't wait to see what it will yield when cut, though. :))
 
After faceting, you could end up with only a 5 ct single amethyst at best and with that much material cut away, the end result will be a lighter stone. This is my guess only as I am not as well versed in guessing the final outcome compared to reading an already faceted stone.
 
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