Opinion on amethyst please

[duckieluvzu]

Hi everyone, just wondering if there are any amethyst experts in the house who are willing to help me choose an amethyst. Are any of the following good or is there any other sites that you''''d recommend? I''''m a newb to amethysts but I love the dark purple color and really looking to get one as a present for myself for my birthday. Any help would be much appreciated.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-587816191
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?479466846
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-88574249

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 1/31/2010 6:43:32 AM
Author:duckieluvzu
Hi everyone, just wondering if there are any amethyst experts in the house who are willing to help me choose an amethyst. Are any of the following good or is there any other sites that you''d recommend? I''m a newb to amethysts but I love the dark purple color and really looking to get one as a present for myself for my birthday. Any help would be much appreciated.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-587816191
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?479466846
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-88574249

Hi Duckie,

I will ask admin to repost this in Colored Stones, that way you will get the help you need

 

[CharmyPoo]

I like the first stone. Some of my favorite colored stone vendors include ..

http://www.acstones.com
http://www.finewatergems.com
http://www.whitesgems.com
http://www.precisiongem.com

 

[mousey]

I LOVE amethyst. I recently bought one from Gary Dutton at diamondexpert.com
I love it- its a 4 peaks ammy, so it is quite dark, but not in a black/extinction way. 4 peaks ammys are very rich, with red grapey flashes. Do a search on me, and you should see it set in a pendant. Also Gary is simply lovely, and really helpful.

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Well, as with all gems, it ends up coming down to taste, but I can tell you what is considered the "best." That would be a rich, saturated purple (but not so dark it just goes extinct on you), with subtle flashes of magenta and blue as you rotate the stone in the light.

The stones you linked are all decent (first one is best cut), especially for the size. The color is only average, though. You might want to search for some smaller, higher quality ones before you decide.

 

[mousey]

Gary is have a 20% off sale at the mo (but only till tomorrow), but i think all his ammys are probably too small for you!

 

[Fly Girl]

I have recently become a fan of the Zambian amethyst carried by Dana at Mastercutgems. I purchased this stone from him, which shows the magenta and blue flashes. Link

The thread with pictures of my finished ring is here. Link

 

[mousey]

wowsers that rings a stunner!

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

Yeah! That''s what I''m talking about That''s awesome amethyst color.

 

[Nomsdeplume]

I am so in love with that ring! The colors are gorgeous together.
Whiteflash had an article a while ago with a stunning picture. Maybe they can source an amethyst like this one for you?

 

[Arcadian]

Date: 1/31/2010 11:00:30 AM
Author:duckieluvzu
Hi everyone, just wondering if there are any amethyst experts in the house who are willing to help me choose an amethyst. Are any of the following good or is there any other sites that you''d recommend? I''m a newb to amethysts but I love the dark purple color and really looking to get one as a present for myself for my birthday. Any help would be much appreciated.

http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-587816191
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?479466846
http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-88574249

Fixed your links.

-A

 

[ma re]

Of the three stones you posted I''d take the last one (EC, the most expensive one, go figure...), cause it''s got quite a nice color and it''s fashioned into my favorite cut. I really think emerald cuts can do wonders for stones like amethysts, cause if the color is rich enough they can provide those nice flashes of color(s) due to extra large facets. I browsed the site a bit and here are some suggestions:

- a trillion http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-871647797
- a radiant http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-116965919
- a cushion http://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1715881851

Neither is the best amethyst you could ever find, but IMO they''re quite nice.

 

[chrono]

Ma Re,
The last one is not an EC. ECs are emerald cuts which are step cut. The last stone is a rectangular cushion (or some modified form) but definitely not a step cut.

Duckie,
None of them speak to me in particular. They are all your regular purple amethyst and the first has a small window, the second doesn''t look lively in the picture while the third might also have minor cutting issues. Colour-wise, they look all right but nothing special. Most posters here like amethyst that is a little different from the ones commonly found. The 4 peaks material has red flash, the Jackson Crossroad material has blue flash and the Uruguayan material has a nice mix of blue and red but mostly red flash.

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 1/31/2010 4:28:54 PM
Author: Chrono
Ma Re,
The last one is not an EC. ECs are emerald cuts which are step cut. The last stone is a rectangular cushion (or some modified form) but definitely not a step cut.

Chrono - Just to clarify, but I suspect you misread what Mr. ma ra wrote. He was referring this this stone Link, which certainly looks like an emerald cut to me. (Pictured below).

Duckie - I'm attaching a link to a pretty emerald cut stone which is on Richard Wise's web site. It would be a fine choice. Link


Loving you back, duckie.

Like your name.

 

[chrono]

Date: 1/31/2010 5:02:04 PM
Author: Fly Girl
Chrono - Just to clarify, but I suspect you misread what Mr. ma ra wrote. He was referring this this stone Link, which certainly looks like an emerald cut to me. (Pictured below).

Duckie - I'm attaching a link to a pretty emerald cut stone which is on Richard Wise's web site. It would be a fine choice. Link


Loving you back, duckie.

Like your name.

AHA! Now that's an emerald cut. Sorry Ma Re.

FlyGirl, Richard's amethyst looks lika barion cut to me.

 

[Laila619]

Ooh, love that emerald cut amethyst!

 

[DistinctionJewelry]

I think you''ll be very happy if you go with one that has some of those delicious multicolor glints. Amethyst can be a pretty stone, or a stunning one, depending on the color you choose.

 

[duckieluvzu]

Wow! Thanks everyone for your replies!

Thanks Lorelei for asking admins to move it to the right location.

CharmyPoo: I''ve checked those sites before checking multicolor but most don''t have any amethyst on sale. Should I contact the vendor directly to get info? http://www.acstones.com has one cushion that I think looks nice but it''s SOLD

Mousey: I can''t find your pendant but I found a thread from you that shows 4 different 4 peaks stones from Garry and they all look yummy I tried searching for Gary''s stones too because I love ManhattanLawyer''s new ammy from him but the only ones from his site that are in the shapes i''m looking for are these two: Link1Link2
The first one don''t seem to sparkle as much and the 2nd one is too light? Or am I missing something? And I''m not actually looking for something that''s 15ct or anything but perhaps around 5-8? I''m willing to spend around $300 on the stone or so. Do you think that would be a good budget for a nice stone?

Fly Girl: Thanks for posting your ring. She''s a beauty! I''m having trouble searching on that site as I can''t find many amethysts and the ones I found are all rounds and ovals

I love the purple color from the Richard Wise''s stone you''ve suggested! Thank you!

kribbie: WOW! That''s a very nice amethyst you''ve posted. I didn''t know whiteflash would search for an amethyst for you.

Arcadian: Thanks for fixing my links

DistinctionJewelry: Thanks for your suggestions. Just wondering if you could tell me what I should be looking for in an amethyst? How do I know the color/cut/clarity will turn out beautifully? I''m completely new amethyst world but love love deep purple colors that it brings. HELP?

Chrono: What are windows? Don''t reflect light as well?

ma re: Thanks for your suggestions. The cushion is quite nice but I''m looking for something darker without the big inclusion? Would it make the stone too dark?

 

[chrono]

A window is where there is major light leakage. Light/colour is not reflected back to the eye but goes straight through the stone so that that area in the center is usual dull and lifeless. If large enough, one can see the skin/setting underneath. In an unset stone, one can read print material through the window. The cause is not just a shallow stone because sometimes a deep stone will windowing too. The reason is due to the last few tiers on the pavilion not having the correct angles.

 

[ma re]

Date: 2/3/2010 9:33:27 PM
Author: duckieluvzu

ma re: Thanks for your suggestions. The cushion is quite nice but I''m looking for something darker without the big inclusion? Would it make the stone too dark?

Well, inclusion isn''t really that big and I wonder how visible it really is when you move the stone and the light sparkles within. About the color - yes, you can get darker tones in amethysts, but if you''re going for a cushion, I''d advise you too look into precision cut stones only, especially if you don''t feel ready to judge the quality of the cutting yourself yet. The reason is that the darker tone of color will somewhat reduce the light return (since there''s less light getting inside the stone), and since cushions are not particularly sparkly unless precision cut (and sites like multicolour don''t sell precision cut stones) there''s a risk that darker stones will look somewhat dead and dull. You should also remember that dark tone of color often means that the color becomes more flat, loses depth and richness, so such stones often look like this:
http://www.crystalsrocksandgems.com/images/AmethystRingsGoddessA2414.jpg
Compare that to the stones suggested by some of the forum members here and you''ll see what I mean, this one just doesen''t seem as rich, as it doesen''t display that beautiful mosaic pattern of different shades of purple - it''s just one single shade and not a particularly beautiful one, so you can get the same effect with a very affordable cabochon.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Nice thread. I''ve got one of those Amys bookmarked in my "possible buy" list. I do like the look of the 4 Peaks Amys on the Dutton''s Diamonds website. I''m sure they would out sparkle my old oval Amy ring. So I hesitate to buy.

IMO you should stick with the Precision Cut stones, they are just so much nicer cut wise. Unless you find that you can''t find the exact color/cut combo you want. But with all the stones/stone sites PSers posted for you I''m sure you can find something very nice.

Have fun with your hunt!!