Help me understand Amethyst flash (and maybe help me pick a stone)

[JackTrick]

I've been looking for an amethyst for a new ring, but am having trouble quite understanding the nuances of 'flash.'

I've definitely been able to see it in some photos and videos, but I don't quite understand if it's something that should be easy to see anytime? Under certain lighting conditions? And how prevalent should it be? Is it a quality of the stone? The cut? Both? Are some sellers just better at advertising it?

I had found this stone (2 c, Uruguay) that I kind of liked, although it seemed rather dark.

https://i.imgur.com/QFOv4Kz.mp4 (outdoor video)

I definitely saw some pink and blue sparkle, which seemed lovely.

Then I found other stones that were larger and seemed to have a more lovely purple (5.68 c, Uruguay), but not as much sparkle flash. At least in the images/videos shown.

https://i.imgur.com/q0HUje9.mp4 (video)

Another example where I saw beautiful purple, but no flash.

Thoughts/feelings/advice? First one too dark? Other ones not having flash? Got another stone to recommend? Thanks for any help

 

[GliderPoss]

I think largely it's dependent on the CUT and the LIGHTING. The top example is lovely but I agree it's dark and maybe you would not see flashes like that on a daily basis.

 

[Rfisher]

From what I understand, and what I see in my own stone -
Blue/red flash in amethyst is not apparent in all lighting conditions.
I can’t comment about the ones you linked because I’m not knowledgeable enough. But you can ask the vendor(s) what lighting they used, and request alternate lighting shots, so you can compare apples to apples.

 

[lovedogs]

I agree that you need to ask about the lighting. I love the flash of the first one too, but am afraid it would be too dark IRL.

 

[Bron357]

I’ve got quite a few amethysts unset and in jewellery and none show “flashes” like the first video in “normal, everyday lighting conditions”.
That first video is obviously using some sort of high intensity LED light source so you aren’t ever going to see “sparkles and flashes” like that in real life.
Vendors often invest money into fancy lighting and quality cameras / post production tweaking so it’s a bit misleading in my opinion.
The photo/ s you want to ask for is the gem, on the hand, outside in normal daylight. That’s the best way to judge performance.
Amethyst doesn’t have a particularly high refractive index and so you are mainly purchasing for body colour, cut and size.

 

[JackTrick]

The photo/ s you want to ask for is the gem, on the hand, outside in normal daylight. That’s the best way to judge performance.

Yeah, I requested that of the first video and got this:
https://i.imgur.com/QFOv4Kz.mp4

Which is certainly less impressive, but probably a more realistic idea of what it'd look like.

 

[T L]

The only “flash” I hear about in amethyst is the famed red flash found in some high quality gems. Your top photo shows this red flash. The best amethyst color shift to violet in certain lighting, and have flashes of red color, and are medium dark in tone. There are amethyst with red flash with very dark tone, but those are like charcoal in most lighting. Your top stone is way too dark in tone.

 

[Fabian Kneipp]

The top one is too dark in my opinion and the heavy flashes are because of the lightning.
Always be careful by the photos. The cutting of the second one seems to be nice but will be probably a little bit darker than on the photo. The Amethyst from T L is a pretty good example for a good one.

 

[dk168]

This is mine from Richard Homer. It looked nice in the photos, however, a bit too dark IRL and I can only see flashes in certain lighting.



This is my inexpensive one from Jeff Davies, lighter in colour, again, I can only see flashes in certain lights.


JD has a few Amethyst in his stores on eBay and Etsy, quite pretty, and won't break the bank (mine from RH was very expensive by comparison).

I prefer lighter stones than really dark ones so that I can appreciate the cut more.

DK

 

[JackTrick]

You all have been incredibly helpful, thank you!

Starting to think I might be well served heading to a couple jewelry stores to get acquainted with different types of amethyst IRL. The world of buying online is tricky when my experience is limited.

And thanks for the recommendations dk168. If anyone knows any other good shops feel free to post them

 

[Bron357]

Yeah, I requested that of the first video and got this:
https://i.imgur.com/QFOv4Kz.mp4

Which is certainly less impressive, but probably a more realistic idea of what it'd look like.

Here is one of my Amethyst gems. Same gem, same iPhone camera but different types of indoor lighting (it’s night time here in the land of Aus).
I’d recommend buying from a vendor who accepts no fuss return if you don’t like the gem once you receive it.

 

[T L]

You all have been incredibly helpful, thank you!

Starting to think I might be well served heading to a couple jewelry stores to get acquainted with different types of amethyst IRL. The world of buying online is tricky when my experience is limited.

And thanks for the recommendations dk168. If anyone knows any other good shops feel free to post them

Just make sure you buy a stone from a reputable dealer that knows their sources. It’s often synthesized. Also most jewelry stores only carry that flat looking Brazilian material. I think moregems.com has some beautiful Rwandan stones. Here’s an excellent example of one of their amethysts. See the blue and pink? It’s not just a flat grape purple.

 

[T L]

The top one is too dark in my opinion and the heavy flashes are because of the lightning.
Always be careful by the photos. The cutting of the second one seems to be nice but will be probably a little bit darker than on the photo. The Amethyst from T L is a pretty good example for a good one.

Thank you, that’s an old mine stone from Zambia, an excellent deposit for these gems. Generally, Africa has beautiful gems. Uruguay does as well. Although there are exceptions, I typically avoid Brazilian amethyst.

 

[T L]

This is what you want to avoid, heavily zoned, flat looking stones with no depth of color. This is also a darker tone, but notice no pink or blue.

 

[Rfisher]

Same stones, of course.
Same phone camera, different lighting sources.
I got these from The Gemstone Project and Artistic Colored Stones.

 

[lovedogs]

Here's an example (IMHO) of a nice one.

https://www.moregems.com/products/amethyst-from-madagascar-weighs-28-36-carats

Its likely bigger than you need, but just wanted to show. Watch the video for pink/blue flashes

 

[JackTrick]

Gosh, you all are absolute champions. I'm so grateful for the wealth of information you all have given me! Seriously, thank you for all the advice and reference images/photos.

Here’s an excellent example of one of their amethysts. See the blue and pink? It’s not just a flat grape purple.

This, in particular, was super helpful to watch. That variation of color seems much more straightforward to see and judge.

Here's an example (IMHO) of a nice one.
https://www.moregems.com/products/amethyst-from-madagascar-weighs-28-36-carats
Its likely bigger than you need, but just wanted to show. Watch the video for pink/blue flashes

And that's gorgeous. And yeah, certainly bigger than what I need, but helpful to better understand what I'm looking for

Purple/violet depending on lighting and angle, depth of color (no flatness), medium toned, no zoning. And sounds like origin can be a big factor in that? Noticing that I generally haven't been as impressed with stones from Brazil, but have liked what I've seen more from Zambia, Uruguay, and Rwanda.

 

[lovedogs]

Gosh, you all are absolute champions. I'm so grateful for the wealth of information you all have given me! Seriously, thank you for all the advice and reference images/photos.



This, in particular, was super helpful to watch. That variation of color seems much more straightforward to see and judge.



And that's gorgeous. And yeah, certainly bigger than what I need, but helpful to better understand what I'm looking for

Purple/violet depending on lighting and angle, depth of color (no flatness), medium toned, no zoning. And sounds like origin can be a big factor in that? Noticing that I generally haven't been as impressed with stones from Brazil, but have liked what I've seen more from Zambia, Uruguay, and Rwanda.

Yeah. Amethysts are one of the few stones (and spinel) where I can honestly tell the difference in stones between locations. I agree that the ones from Rwanda/Uruguay/Zambia are better than Brazil

 

[Nosean]

Red flashes, blue flashes...

In my opinion result of deeper to darker colored stones in violet, blue, red and with an alexandrite CC like alexandrite or CCG .Also deeper colored chromian sphene or deep to dark russian and iranian demantoid.

The strong body color is absorbing green, yellow and orange flashes from the dispersion - you see only the red flash moving the stone. In some stones also blue.

Typical for cobalt spinel and alexandrite or CCG. In ruby you see red flashes too. Some deep colored CCG show a red rim on a pavillion facet and a blue rim on the opposite side of the facet. Alexandrite show a red rim. Ruby too - the spectral red is different than the body color.

All these stone have a strong absorbtion in the green to orange part of the spectrum (Cr and Co).

Thats why you don’t see the red flashes in genuine blue spinel colored by divalent iron.

Quarz has a low RI and absortion is not so strong - so lightpath, color and cut plays an important role - some locations are famous for the flashes in red or blue like Jackson Cross road for example.

 

[ZestfullyBling]

Here is one from Bolivia also South America but not Brazil. Medium dark tone.

AMETHYST LARGE OVAL (Bolivia) -- 11.67 ct. -- VIDEO
Artcutgems description:
Bolivian Amethyst large oval, approx. 11.67 ct., 13.7 x 18.5 mm. Medium-dark toned pinkish-purple. Very fine cut with Portuguese pavilion, checkerboard crown. Nearly loupe clean clean with only tiny pinpoints at 10x magnification. Very bright, lively and richly-colored large stone.

 

[T L]

I also forgot to mention I dislike Bolivian material as much as Brazilian. The colors are very flat.

There’s also nice amethyst deposits in Georgia and Arizona in the USA, but to me, Africa has the best material.

 

[T L]

This vendor offers some nice smaller colored stones.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq1dDKfhcTG/?igshid=1o5ql465e51b1

Here’s a pretty medium toned Nigerian stone, although I think the red flashes are more apparent on medium dark material. Nonetheless, notice the rich pink and violet hues embedded in the purple.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzf6IQSh5W4/?igshid=1c6d7yksv1lfg

 

[ZestfullyBling]

I also forgot to mention I dislike Bolivian material as much as Brazilian. The colors are very flat.

There’s also nice amethyst deposits in Georgia and Arizona in the USA, but to me, Africa has the best material.

Would you say these are 'flat' as well?

 

[T L]

Too pale for my taste. You start losing that rich color when they get lighter than medium tone. id have to see a video though.

 

[ZestfullyBling]

Ahhh. Got it.
The 1st two are Bolivia and the 2nd two are Uruguay. They both seem medium toned to me.


Uruguay

 

[T L]

The top picture of the trillion looks very flat in color to me. There’s always exceptions to the location rule though. Look at the square radiant I posted a video of above. You can see lots of pink and blue, this is true in sunlight as well as artificial light.

The stones you posted look medium light to me, but not light or rose de France color. The third photo is very flat in color, but I worry that the pale color doesn’t provide the needed saturation for all those mixed hues of pink, violet and purple.

 

[ZestfullyBling]

Just saw the Instagram link. That amethyst is gorgeous!!! I see the flashes you are referring to!! Huge difference! Shows that the cutting of the ameyth materials matters as well

 

[lovedogs]

I would definitely reach out to rioux rocks. I've seen some amazing ammy stones on his IG, and he's really nice. I bet he can help you source a good one.

 

[JackTrick]

This vendor offers some nice smaller colored stones.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq1dDKfhcTG/?igshid=1o5ql465e51b1

Here’s a pretty medium toned Nigerian stone, although I think the red flashes are more apparent on medium dark material. Nonetheless, notice the rich pink and violet hues embedded in the purple.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzf6IQSh5W4/?igshid=1c6d7yksv1lfg

Well those are absolutely stunning. I’ll give him a poke, thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Acinom]

I second @dk168 ‘s advice to buy from Jeff Davies: good quality Stones for a great price and a great return policy.
My amethyst cab is from acstones. Or indeed look at a few Stones in real life to get an idea.