Need an idea of garnet value

[superhaze421]

Hi,
I have about 182ct of garnets with various cuts and ranging from .4ct up to 5.6ct. And colors under light are purple, orange, and red. I looked online and have seen values going from $3 per ct all the way up to $100 per. Before I go to a buyer I would like to have a general idea of their worth.

 

[jordyonbass]

It's hard to say off the pics and description you have provided; as you saw yourself the price per carat can vary so much. It's tricky to evaluate the 4 C's with limited information and then provide an estimated value, let alone provide one that's accurate within a respectable percentage (say, within 25% which some would still deem is not accurate at all).

It's kind of like asking 'how long is a piece of string?', there's so many variables that it's impossible to give an answer and feel confident that it is accurate or even close to accurate.

 

[Arcadian]

This color garnet is not terribly expensive. This looks to be to me Almandine garnet from the images. The cut is also basic so I wouldn't think that the price/ct would be high, given the color.

FYI Because this is a consumer board, if you're member of the trade you can't discuss selling here. It can get you in a bit of trouble.

 

[superhaze421]

This color garnet is not terribly expensive. This looks to be to me Almandine garnet from the images. The cut is also basic so I wouldn't think that the price/ct would be high, given the color.

FYI Because this is a consumer board, if you're member of the trade you can't discuss selling here. It can get you in a bit of trouble.

Not a gem trader. Looked on gemval.com, dont think they are all almadine because i took another look at them under a light and they are either orange or purple and one that's pink, no reds. Without light they all look dark red.

 

[chrono]

Without light they all look dark red.

The above will be the main reason why you probably will not get much $/ct.

 

[superhaze421]

Without light they all look dark red.

The above will be the main reason why you probably will not get much $/ct.

so whats the current price range for almandine garnets?

 

[chrono]

It depends on the carat weight, colour quality, clarity, and to some degree, the cut. There is no simple answer because each C will affect the pricing differently and I cannot tell much from your pictures other than it looks more like commercial quality.

 

[GregS]

I will echo the above statements and add that I see quite a bit of facet abrasion. Storing them all together loosely in that bag has created some wear and tear which doesn't help their value.

 

[katharath]

Without light they all look dark red.

The above will be the main reason why you probably will not get much $/ct.

so whats the current price range for almandine garnets?

Do you know what type of garnets you have or are you just guessing? It's impossible for us to give you a value without extremely specific information, and even then, colored gems pricing varies - so it's fairly rare for anyone to be able to give accurate pricing info by looking at pics in this manner.

It's my understanding that these are probably the cheapest types of garnet (I'm referring to almandine and pyrope). Extremely nice, precision cut examples will bring more money. Based on your pics, these look to be pretty typical/average in both cut and color.

I spent a few minutes googling just now and found sites offering almandines in what appear to be similar cut and color to yours for less than $1 per carat to maybe $3-4 per carat. Since you have the gems in front of you, and can judge their quality much better than we can, maybe you should spend some time researching online and see if you can get a better idea. However, due to the type of material, it's just not going to be a very high price per carat, as these are not rare gems.

If you don't know exactly what you have, we usually recommend sending to a lab for verification. In this case I don't know that it would really be worth it, as it will cost around $65 to have one of them evaluated. However, if you feel strongly that you have something different than almandine or pyrope, you may want to do this. When you say that you see orange and pink, etc etc, under "a light", what type of light source are you referring to? If they typically look the way that they do in the pics - meaning in normal daylight conditions they look like the pics - then I wouldn't think sending to the lab would be worthwhile.

 

[minousbijoux]

Do you know what type of garnets you have or are you just guessing? It's impossible for us to give you a value without extremely specific information, and even then, colored gems pricing varies - so it's fairly rare for anyone to be able to give accurate pricing info by looking at pics in this manner.

It's my understanding that these are probably the cheapest types of garnet (I'm referring to almandine and pyrope). Extremely nice, precision cut examples will bring more money. Based on your pics, these look to be pretty typical/average in both cut and color.

I spent a few minutes googling just now and found sites offering almandines in what appear to be similar cut and color to yours for less than $1 per carat to maybe $3-4 per carat. Since you have the gems in front of you, and can judge their quality much better than we can, maybe you should spend some time researching online and see if you can get a better idea. However, due to the type of material, it's just not going to be a very high price per carat, as these are not rare gems.

If you don't know exactly what you have, we usually recommend sending to a lab for verification. In this case I don't know that it would really be worth it, as it will cost around $65 to have one of them evaluated. However, if you feel strongly that you have something different than almandine or pyrope, you may want to do this. When you say that you see orange and pink, etc etc, under "a light", what type of light source are you referring to? If they typically look the way that they do in the pics - meaning in normal daylight conditions they look like the pics - then I wouldn't think sending to the lab would be worthwhile.

+1 for everything said here.

 

[Arcadian]

This color garnet is not terribly expensive. This looks to be to me Almandine garnet from the images. The cut is also basic so I wouldn't think that the price/ct would be high, given the color.

FYI Because this is a consumer board, if you're member of the trade you can't discuss selling here. It can get you in a bit of trouble.

Not a gem trader. Looked on gemval.com, dont think they are all almadine because i took another look at them under a light and they are either orange or purple and one that's pink, no reds. Without light they all look dark red.

Ok, just checking because I wouldn't want anyone getting in trouble needlessly.

Almandine can come in some interesting color variations, so don't discount that, also, Garnets can and do come in some interesting combinations and they're not always what they seem.

Anyway as said in the thread if you need to be really sure what you have, be it almandine or another garnet type, have them tested by an independent lab. If that's too cost prohibitive, get a small test kit and test on your own. Refractometers are basic but good tools to have and a good place to start.

The stones themselves are quite dark, and not terribly significant. And personally I have LOTS of these types of garnets that I got for very cheap. Stones of this color can be had on ebay for pennies really, and they're not terribly rare. Basically these are good cheap project stones. I'm honestly not trying to be a bubble buster or a negative nelly, I'm just telling you what I see.
But you can put any price on them that you want if you feel the person buying from you will pay it but In the realm of realism however, given the color, cut, and condition, I would price the parcel low, if thats how you plan to sell them.