My first piece of rough - Jackson''s Crossroads Amethyst from Georgia

[cellentani]

I purchased a piece of JXR amethyst rough, and received it today. Unlike 4 Peaks amethyst that has red flashes, JXR amethyst shows more blue. However, I''ve got a couple pics in direct sunlight where I swear I can see some red. I was told by the seller that it should cut a couple of top quality gems, possibly up to 5-6 carats. Frankly, this is just a fun project for me, and I''m not really concerned about maximum yield. I''m trying to keep my expectations low, so if I decide to cut it, I''ll be happy with a 4 carat gem. I''ve heard that JXR material is hard to come by and is much rarer than 4 Peaks, so part of the decision processs is whether to cut it at all. However, I''m not a "rocks and minerals" kind of girl, so I have a feeling this one is headed for the chopping block.

The color is not a deep, dark Siberian purple, but it will be interesting to see what color a finished gem would have.

 

[cellentani]

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[cellentani]

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[cellentani]

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[cellentani]

Sometimes when I hold the piece up, it looks lighter, and it almost always looks better in my hand.

 

[cellentani]

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[cellentani]

Anyone else see those reddish flashes?

 

[chrono]

Thanks for the pictures. I definitely see a strong blue component and a hint of red in that one flash picture.

 

[T L]

Cellentani,
Nice piece of rough. It reminds me a great deal of Zambian material. Very strong blue component and almost looks like tanzanite. Please let us know who you get to cut it, as I need a cutter for my tourmaline rough.

 

[cellentani]

Date: 8/13/2009 4:18:40 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Cellentani,
Nice piece of rough. It reminds me a great deal of Zambian material. Very strong blue component and almost looks like tanzanite. Please let us know who you get to cut it, as I need a cutter for my tourmaline rough.

Haha, that''s the trick, isn''t it? Which tourmaline are you cutting - the one with nice termination?

 

[D&T]

wow, looks like a fun project. can''t wait to see what you end up doing with it or who you will go to get it cut. I''m sure it will turn out beautifully

 

[T L]

Date: 8/13/2009 4:30:29 PM
Author: cellentani

Date: 8/13/2009 4:18:40 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Cellentani,
Nice piece of rough. It reminds me a great deal of Zambian material. Very strong blue component and almost looks like tanzanite. Please let us know who you get to cut it, as I need a cutter for my tourmaline rough.

Haha, that''s the trick, isn''t it? Which tourmaline are you cutting - the one with nice termination?

Yes, that one!!

 

[cellentani]

Date: 8/13/2009 5:37:49 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Date: 8/13/2009 4:30:29 PM
Author: cellentani

Date: 8/13/2009 4:18:40 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Cellentani,
Nice piece of rough. It reminds me a great deal of Zambian material. Very strong blue component and almost looks like tanzanite. Please let us know who you get to cut it, as I need a cutter for my tourmaline rough.

Haha, that''s the trick, isn''t it? Which tourmaline are you cutting - the one with nice termination?

Yes, that one!!

How big is your tourmaline rough? Have you shopped it around to any cutters? I actually contacted BK about it, and I''ll probably send it to him just for an evaluation. I have the sense that some of the higher-end cutters wouldn''t want to bother with it, and frankly, I don''t blame them - we both know the risks. You''d probably feel more comfortable going to someone more established, though.


What I realized today is that 85 carats isn''t as big as it sounds.

 

[cellentani]

For what it''s worth, I emailed the seller about the color, and while JXR amethysts are predominantly purple-blue toned, they can have red flashes - just not as common. I kind of like the red, and it only comes out in certain light.

 

[Fly Girl]

Very nice rock. Nice pictures, too. I find it so difficult to make my amethyst photos look like what I see in person. Interesting that the red flashes are showing up in sunlight. That''s different than Siberian color, where I understand that the red flashes show up under incandescent light. At least that is true for my new little Zambian.

Good for you to get some cool American amethyst. Looking forward to how this project turns out.

 

[Barrett]

glad you got a piece..the saturation looks good on the piece..can''t wait to see a cut stone..when the largest gem show in the southeast does it''s theme around a little 2 acre mine location you know it''s got to be good..glad you snagged a piece up..I looked through a whole coffee can full of JXR rough yesterday and saw nothing close to the quality of yours..it''s rare to find a good facetgrade piece..like i said before out of maybe 350 hours of hunting I have only ever found maybe 4-6 good facetgrade pieces..with good color...now who is going to cut it

 

[cellentani]

Date: 8/14/2009 9:39:34 PM
Author: amethystguy
glad you got a piece..the saturation looks good on the piece..can''t wait to see a cut stone..when the largest gem show in the southeast does it''s theme around a little 2 acre mine location you know it''s got to be good..glad you snagged a piece up..I looked through a whole coffee can full of JXR rough yesterday and saw nothing close to the quality of yours..it''s rare to find a good facetgrade piece..like i said before out of maybe 350 hours of hunting I have only ever found maybe 4-6 good facetgrade pieces..with good color...now who is going to cut it

amethystguy, I''m gratified to hear that you think it''s a good piece. Those 350 hours - is that time you actually spent digging at the mine, or digging through coffee cans? I''ve seen pics of the mine from 2005, before it was sold; is it still open to the public? And by the way, the seller said she has a few more pieces left, in case you''re interested. Now you''ve got me nervous about the cutting...

 

[Barrett]

yea it''s still open..it''s real cool place..just a little cleared area in the middle of the forest in the heart of georgia..right smack dab in plantation country....when you think of slavery and cotton plantations a 150 years ago you would think of this area..check out my post under "question for amethystguy..there is some pics of some 4 peaks and JXR facet rough..

 

[autumngems]

Cellentani,
Very nice, I got a piece for JCR rough too, trying to decide what to cut it into.

 

[cellentani]

Date: 8/15/2009 5:56:16 PM
Author: autumngems
Cellentani,
Very nice, I got a piece for JCR rough too, trying to decide what to cut it into.

I saw your JXR rough in the other thread - it''s unbelievable!! Are you going to try to get the biggest cut piece you can, or a few smaller pieces?

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Cool stone, the color has so much depth

 

[Indylady]

Very pretty! Do you get to kind of ''decide'' what shape it will be cut into? Or will the cutter figure out what''s ''best''?

 

[cellentani]

Thanks LtlFirecracker!

szh07 - I''ll wait to hear what the cutter thinks, because I''m no expert! However, I''d like to have a stone I can wear, so I don''t know what choice I''d make between a bigger, more valuable cut gem, or a more modest, wearable size - what do you think?

 

[Indylady]

Hmmn...now that is some food for thought.

The practical of me would say to go to for a smaller gem that you can wear often and enjoy daily. What''s the fun in having a beautiful amethyst that lives in your jewelery box?

However, the romantic side

of me, says, ''Practical? No thanks.'' The romantic in me would love to a big, beautiful statement piece, one that people whisper about after you walk by.

 

[cellentani]

Date: 8/15/2009 9:15:40 PM
Author: szh07
Hmmn...now that is some food for thought.

The practical of me would say to go to for a smaller gem that you can wear often and enjoy daily. What''s the fun in having a beautiful amethyst that lives in your jewelery box?

However, the romantic side

of me, says, ''Practical? No thanks.'' The romantic in me would love to a big, beautiful statement piece, one that people whisper about after you walk by.

Haha, I like how you think! I realize though, that I like my colored stones to be on the big side anyway, around 8mm (to cover my fleshy fingers

). So maybe there won''t be a dilemma at all.

 

[autumngems]

Cellentani,

I am not quite sure, perhaps two gems. I would like an asscher and a pear also

 

[chrono]

AutumnGems,
I'm concerned that the size loss of cutting it into 2 might be too great. I’ll probably keep it as one very large stone.