SILLIMANITE

[AECJIM]

Hello
I am posting for the first time here at Pricescope.

I was woundering if anybody would know how much per caret a

SILLIMANITE above 20cts might be.

This is one of my favorite stones. Too bad you dont see if more often.

Thanks

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 9/1/2006 11:22:36 PM
Author:AECJIM
Hello I am posting for the first time here at Pricescope.
I was woundering if anybody would know how much per caret a SILLIMANITE above 20cts might be.

Since no one else has responded I''ll take this on. I suspect you''re thinking of transparent facet-grade sillimanite. Are you aware it comes in several colors, which have a bearing on its value? Or that it occurs as a chatoyant variety(fibrolite) that yields very fine cat''s-eyes? Or that there''s a massive form that can be cut into cabochons and carvings?

Each one has its own range of values so you''ll need to be specific about what you have in mind. Facet-grade material from Burma, Africa and Sri Lanka is scarce and usually occurs in small sizes unless some new source has come on line I''m not yet aware of. A 20-carat fine blue, violet-blue, green or other attractive color could probably bring a good price from a collector. But fibrolite cat''s-eyes of that size are not unusual and the massive material occurs as large boulders sometimes weighing many pounds. Be aware that it has a very pronounced cleavage and cut stones can split in two easily. Hope this helps.

Richard M.

 

[AECJIM]

Richard


Thanks for your response.

Yes I was talking about transparent facet grade.

I don''t know the oirgin of the stone ,however it is a very fine shade of pale olive green.

It is loupe clean (10X) in a ovel checkerboard cut 23.36 ct. Very Pretty. I also have a 4.26 ct. of the same color and cut.

Just looking for a "ballpark" price.

Thanks

AECJIM

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 9/3/2006 6:49:04 PM
Author: AECJIM
Richard
I don''t know the oirgin of the stone ,however it is a very fine shade of pale olive green.
It is loupe clean (10X) in a ovel checkerboard cut 23.36 ct. Very Pretty. I also have a 4.26 ct. of the same color and cut. Just looking for a ''ballpark'' price.
AECJIM

A quick Google search found several large faceted sillimanites including a 20.55 ct. oval in a checkerboard cut (all apparently clean clear white) selling for about $15/ct. at multicolour.com. All are from India so I''m assuming facet-grade material is now coming from that source in addition to cat''s-eyes. I don''t know how much premium a collector might pay for an olive green stone since sillimanite isn''t traded much and no definite market exists. Olive green is not considered a desirable color in other stones like tourmaline. Hope this helps.

Richard M.

.

 

[AECJIM]

Yes it does help,never thought to do a web search

Thanks