Opinions on this amethyst

[karend26]

Hello!

Could I get opinions on this amethysts, and amethysts in general. This looks like a gorgeous large stone to me and the price is so low, isn''t it? I know Amethysts aren''t particularly rare, but still...What''s the verdict on this one?

Thanks!!

STONE: Amethyst
WEIGHT: 4.74 cts.
CUT: Barion Square Brilliant
DIMENSIONS: 10.04 mm
ORIGIN: Brazil
COLOR: Medium Dark Purple
CLARITY: Very Good+ (Eye Clean)
PRICE (U.S. Dollars): $189
ITEM #am1064

COMMENTS: A nicely brilliant, deeper purple amethyst from Brazil with a good color shift from being more blue purple under daylight to more magenta purple under incandescent light.

 

[ma re]

That amethyst doesen''t seem bad at all, but it doesen''t seem particularly good either. To me it looks like many other, but with a higher price tag. At around 40$/ct and with that color, this stone should be cut by a well known cutter (i.e. it should be a precision cut stone) to justify the price tag. This shade of purple is no better than the ones on 20$/ct amethysts IMHO. But this way, I''d expect a whole lot of life to it besides that nice, but not extraordinary, shade of purple.

 

[T L]

Ditto on what MaRe said.

It''s your typical Brazilian amethyst. When I look for amethyst, the best ones come from Arizona (four peaks mine), Central Asia, and Africa and Uruguay. I don''t find Brazilian amethyst to be that great. Fine amethyst should be a deep bluish purple with red flashes. Some even have a more reddish purple body color that is very highly priced - this is called "Siberian" color because a long time ago the Ural mountains of Russia produced this color, and it was worn by royalty and highly prized.

I was looking at some nice amethysts on coloradogem.com. Their pictures aren''t all that great, but they do seem to have some highly prized colors of this gem. I never purchased anything from them however, so I cannot vouch for their quality. Gary Dutton of diamondexpert.com can source some nice amethyst as well.

Also, do not buy amethyst off ebay unless you know what you''re doing. It''s highly synthesized. If you see any big purple and "too perfect" looking amethysts on ebay, stay clear of them.

 

[karend26]

This one is HUGE and the color seems great, right? Opinions on cut too?

Thanks so much!!!



AM-1772 Uruguayan Amethyst(J) 10.30 ct. 13.9x11.9 Victoria cushion[Gec]. This medium/dark amethyst has a great deal of the reddish tones that the mines of Artigas, Uruguay are famous for. Flawless at 10x. BB

Price: $412.00

 

[T L]

Date: 1/10/2009 11:15:07 AM
Author: karend26


This one is HUGE and the color seems great, right? Opinions on cut too?

Thanks so much!!!



AM-1772 Uruguayan Amethyst(J) 10.30 ct. 13.9x11.9 Victoria cushion[Gec]. This medium/dark amethyst has a great deal of the reddish tones that the mines of Artigas, Uruguay are famous for. Flawless at 10x. BB



Price: $412.00

That's a nicer stone that the first one. Make sure it's not too dark, meaning it goes extinct in certain lighting. I like amethyst to be dark, but not so dark they look black. I personally like amethyst with a more reddish body tone as well. Everyone loves his cutting, so I don't see any cutting issues. There are many people on PS that have his amethysts including LaurenThePartier, who just set one of his amethysts (see the gallery images to the right).

 

[ma re]

Date: 1/10/2009 11:15:07 AM
Author: karend26

This one is HUGE and the color seems great, right? Opinions on cut too?

Thanks so much!!!



AM-1772 Uruguayan Amethyst(J) 10.30 ct. 13.9x11.9 Victoria cushion[Gec]. This medium/dark amethyst has a great deal of the reddish tones that the mines of Artigas, Uruguay are famous for. Flawless at 10x. BB


Price: $412.00

Waaay nicer than the first one!

P. S. Whenever you''re looking for a great amethyst, make sure it looks as "rhodolitish" as possible - that''s a great way of finding quality specimens. That is if you understand the scientific term I used

 

[PrecisionGem]

One thing when shopping online for Amethyst, you can''t really trust the pictures. The color seems to photograph different than the stone in person. I know I have trouble photographing them, and most green stones. Green is really the worst to photograph for me, especially the chrome type stones.

Online stone shopping is similar to online dating.

 

[LD]

Date: 1/10/2009 11:59:28 AM
Author: PrecisionGem
One thing when shopping online for Amethyst, you can't really trust the pictures. The color seems to photograph different than the stone in person. I know I have trouble photographing them, and most green stones. Green is really the worst to photograph for me, especially the chrome type stones.

Online stone shopping is similar to online dating.

I have an 18ct amethyst that shows a lot of red and is darker (very similar to the second one you posted up). I love it because it's so rich looking. Here's a real life pic so you can see for yourself the tones - there's much more red and pink than shows in the photo - and I agree with Gene it was a pig to photograph!

 

[karend26]

Date: 1/10/2009 12:20:16 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds

Date: 1/10/2009 11:59:28 AM
Author: PrecisionGem
One thing when shopping online for Amethyst, you can''t really trust the pictures. The color seems to photograph different than the stone in person. I know I have trouble photographing them, and most green stones. Green is really the worst to photograph for me, especially the chrome type stones.

Online stone shopping is similar to online dating.

I have an 18ct amethyst that shows a lot of red and is darker (very similar to the second one you posted up). I love it because it''s so rich looking. Here''s a real life pic so you can see for yourself the tones - there''s much more red and pink than shows in the photo - and I agree with Gene it was a pig to photograph!

Wow 18ct!!! It''s absolutely gorgeous!! What will you do with it?

 

[icekid]

Date: 1/10/2009 11:15:07 AM
Author: karend26

This one is HUGE and the color seems great, right? Opinions on cut too?

Thanks so much!!!



AM-1772 Uruguayan Amethyst(J) 10.30 ct. 13.9x11.9 Victoria cushion[Gec]. This medium/dark amethyst has a great deal of the reddish tones that the mines of Artigas, Uruguay are famous for. Flawless at 10x. BB


Price: $412.00

I''m loving this cushion from ACS! I have a few BB stones, and would absolutely vouch for him. He''s a terrific guy and so are his stones.

 

[LD]

Date: 1/10/2009 12:25:45 PM
Author: karend26

Date: 1/10/2009 12:20:16 PM
Author: LovingDiamonds

Date: 1/10/2009 11:59:28 AM
Author: PrecisionGem
One thing when shopping online for Amethyst, you can''t really trust the pictures. The color seems to photograph different than the stone in person. I know I have trouble photographing them, and most green stones. Green is really the worst to photograph for me, especially the chrome type stones.

Online stone shopping is similar to online dating.

I have an 18ct amethyst that shows a lot of red and is darker (very similar to the second one you posted up). I love it because it''s so rich looking. Here''s a real life pic so you can see for yourself the tones - there''s much more red and pink than shows in the photo - and I agree with Gene it was a pig to photograph!

Wow 18ct!!! It''s absolutely gorgeous!! What will you do with it?

It''s already set. It''s now a pendant set in 18k white gold with two white diamond trilliants above it forming a diamond shape. Don''t think I have a photograph of it but if I find one I''ll post up!

 

[T L]

Here's my 13 carat zambian Amethyst ring with zambian scissor cuts below. As you can see, and I think this is a realistic color representation (my camera doesn't do a good job 99% of the time though), there is a lot of blue in this stone. The African stones are pretty representative of a more bluish purple. Ones with a more red body color are highly prized. The Brazilian stones are a light greyish pink purple, I'm not very enthused by most of them. I also watch out for highly zoned amethyst as well. However, if it looks too perfect, no zoning, deep rich purple color, then it could be synthetic, so make sure you buy from a reputable dealer, like the cutters mentioned in this thread.

 

[karend26]

Date: 1/10/2009 1:31:34 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover

Here''s my 13 carat zambian Amethyst ring with zambian scissor cuts below. As you can see, and I think this is a realistic color representation (my camera doesn''t do a good job 99% of the time though), there is a lot of blue in this stone. The African stones are pretty representative of a more bluish purple. Ones with a more red body color are highly prized. The Brazilian stones are a light greyish pink purple, I''m not very enthused by most of them. I also watch out for highly zoned amethyst as well. However, if it looks too perfect, no zoning, deep rich purple color, then it could be synthetic, so make sure you buy from a reputable dealer, like the cutters mentioned in this thread.

I LOVE this stone and the setting. Are there more amethysts down the side?

 

[LaurenThePartier]

Date: 1/10/2009 12:28:09 PM
Author: icekid

Date: 1/10/2009 11:15:07 AM
Author: karend26


This one is HUGE and the color seems great, right? Opinions on cut too?

Thanks so much!!!



AM-1772 Uruguayan Amethyst(J) 10.30 ct. 13.9x11.9 Victoria cushion[Gec]. This medium/dark amethyst has a great deal of the reddish tones that the mines of Artigas, Uruguay are famous for. Flawless at 10x. BB



Price: $412.00

I''m loving this cushion from ACS! I have a few BB stones, and would absolutely vouch for him. He''s a terrific guy and so are his stones.

Ditto. My amethyst carries a bit of the red flashes in certain light, and also looks a little blue to me in diffused sunlight. My camera is awful at representing how pretty this stone is, and the cutting absolutely rocks.

 

[LaurenThePartier]

I''m loving the amethysts in here, so thought I''d add my BB.

 

[LD]

Date: 1/10/2009 2:40:27 PM
Author: LaurenThePartier
I''m loving the amethysts in here, so thought I''d add my BB.

One word ................ STUNNING

 

[karend26]

O.k. I just took the plunge!!! I purchased this BB amethyst. The color seems really good!!! It''s on the small side but I think it''s great for my first go at this. Now for the setting. I got a round because I figured it would be easiest to set. I''m thinking either a yellow gold bezel setting with a thick band or maybe a halo with diamonds. Any suggestions for good places to get settings like these?

AM-1861 Amethyst
SKU: AM-1861

AM-1861 Amethyst(J) 2.50 ct. 9.0mm round brilliant[Gec].This Uruguayan amethyst has the desireable medium dark reddish purple referred to as ''Siberian'' and is remarkably free of zoning. Flawless at 10x. BB

Price: $138.00

SOLD

 

[T L]

Date: 1/10/2009 2:18:45 PM
Author: karend26
I LOVE this stone and the setting. Are there more amethysts down the side?

Thank you. That's a bridge of scissor cut amethsyts underneath the stone. Here's another pic of the design. As you can see with this picture, amethyst are very dichroic, possessing blue and purple at different angles. It's still not top gem amethyst though, but it's attractive.

Very top gem amethyst is getting harder and harder to come by.

 

[T L]

Date: 1/10/2009 4:45:15 PM
Author: karend26

O.k. I just took the plunge!!! I purchased this BB amethyst. The color seems really good!!! It''s on the small side but I think it''s great for my first go at this. Now for the setting. I got a round because I figured it would be easiest to set. I''m thinking either a yellow gold bezel setting with a thick band or maybe a halo with diamonds. Any suggestions for good places to get settings like these?

AM-1861 Amethyst
SKU: AM-1861

AM-1861 Amethyst(J) 2.50 ct. 9.0mm round brilliant[Gec].This Uruguayan amethyst has the desireable medium dark reddish purple referred to as ''Siberian'' and is remarkably free of zoning. Flawless at 10x. BB

Price: $138.00



SOLD

Congratulations. The "Siberian" color is often referred to as the highly prized deep reddish purple color of top quality amethysts. Very pretty, post pics when you get it.

 

[LD]

Karen the amethyst you''ve bought (gorgeous by the way) at 9mm isn''t particularly small.

It depends how much you want to spend on a setting but a number of us have purchased settings from LOGR and Ian.bo4 (both Ebay sellers). 9mm is a fairly standard size so you probably won''t have a problem finding something. Both sellers will custom make for your size stone anyway.

I''m not sure I would bezel set it though. Bezel setting generally makes things a bit darker but wait until you have the gemstone and see what you think then.

 

[bebe]

drooling over the amethyst, my birthstone.
By the way, who is BB ?

 

[karend26]

Date: 1/10/2009 6:34:11 PM
Author: bebe
drooling over the amethyst, my birthstone.
By the way, who is BB ?

Barry Bridgestock, his site is acstones.com

 

[icekid]

Date: 1/10/2009 4:45:15 PM
Author: karend26

AM-1861 Amethyst
SKU: AM-1861

AM-1861 Amethyst(J) 2.50 ct. 9.0mm round brilliant[Gec].This Uruguayan amethyst has the desireable medium dark reddish purple referred to as ''Siberian'' and is remarkably free of zoning. Flawless at 10x. BB

I bet you''ll love it! And it''s really not small in the least, quite a lovely size in fact.

 

[ma re]

I''m right with LD when it comes to bezeling - it would probably make it too dark, but you''ll know that for sure once you see it in person. And if you''re not sure wether to do a halo or go for yellow gold, I suggest both - yellow gold setting with a halo of diamonds and an amethyst set in prongs! Yellow would really make the purple of amethyst pop, so I highly recommend it.

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

Yay karen! I can''t wait to see it - how are you going to set it?

I just got this BB amethyst - just arrived yesterday!

http://www.acstones.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=141&idproduct=2588

 

[LD]

I took about 1000 photos for you this morning Karen to show you the pendant but they''ve come out awful! I really can''t capture the true colour of the Amethyst. This is the nearest I''ve got but it makes it look very dark (which it isn''t)!

 

[LD]

Side view:

 

[LD]

I see pinks, blues, purples and reds!

 

[platinumrock]

Date: 1/10/2009 4:45:15 PM
Author: karend26

O.k. I just took the plunge!!! I purchased this BB amethyst. The color seems really good!!! It''s on the small side but I think it''s great for my first go at this. Now for the setting. I got a round because I figured it would be easiest to set. I''m thinking either a yellow gold bezel setting with a thick band or maybe a halo with diamonds. Any suggestions for good places to get settings like these?

AM-1861 Amethyst
SKU: AM-1861

AM-1861 Amethyst(J) 2.50 ct. 9.0mm round brilliant[Gec].This Uruguayan amethyst has the desireable medium dark reddish purple referred to as ''Siberian'' and is remarkably free of zoning. Flawless at 10x. BB

Price: $138.00



SOLD

That is a gorgeous color. I love the red tones. Can''t wait to see it set!

 

[karend26]

Date: 1/11/2009 11:46:23 AM
Author: LovingDiamonds
I see pinks, blues, purples and reds!

Wow! That is a magnificent amethyst. I can only imagine how beautiful it is in person!!