purchasing amethysts

[meredith07]

Hello Everyone,

I need some opinions; I am in the process of ordering a matching amethyst earring and pendant set for my sister for her wedding. I am getting it made at a local jeweler.

My question is should I try to find my own amethysts or have my jeweler find them? Also, if I were to find my own, does anyone know anything about africagems.com.

I have found some calibrated amethysts at africagems.com but the site does not offer pictures of these stones just descriptions. Based on what I have read it seems to be a good company to deal with, but I am still not sure because some posts have mentioned they are expensive..

Would it just be safer to go with amethysts that my jeweler finds, even if they are more expensive?

Thanks.

 

[T L]

You have to be careful when purchasing amethysts because it''s highly synthesized, so know your dealer. Gary Dutton of diamondexpert.com has some beautiful material.

 

[morecarats]

Buying amethyst can be risky because of the large quantities of hydrothermal material in the market. Even many experienced jewelers can be fooled by this material, since it is can be quite difficult to detect "just by looking".

It is a good idea to ask for lab certification if you''re buying any moderately expensive amethyst. Ask if the lab can test the amethyst with an infrared spectrometer (FTIR), since that is usually conclusive.

 

[T L]

Morecarats may correct me if I''m wrong, but I think natural amethysts have color zoning and hydrothermal ones do not. That may (or may not) be an indication of natural origin.

 

[meredith07]

So, would it be okay to get the amethysts from africagems.com and get my jeweler to check them during the return period?

Also, I loved the ones I saw on diamondexpert.com, but I need a few amethysts in several different sizes; and I didn''t see a large variety on their site. I do plan on contacting them tomorrow to ask if they have anymore than are listed on their site.

I want one amethyst for the pendant, one for each earring, and one for the bracelet. The one for the pendant will be largest, the ones for the earrings will be smaller, and the one for the bracelet will be the smallest (or it may be the same size as the earrings depending on my jewelers recommendation.

The chain for the necklace and bracelet will be the diamond-by-the-yard style. The earrings will be jackets for diamond studs. She will where them on her wedding day because her wedding colors are platinum and violet.

 

[morecarats]

Date: 11/29/2009 10:53:33 PM
Author: tourmaline_lover
Morecarats may correct me if I''m wrong, but I think natural amethysts have color zoning and hydrothermal ones do not. That may (or may not) be an indication of natural origin.

The better gem labs use a combination of traditional analysis and advanced instruments to definitively identify quartz as natural or synthetic.

The presence of color zoning would be a good indication that the amethyst is natural. But better quality natural amethyst may not have much or any color zoning.

Labs also look for distinctive "breadcrumb" inclusions left by the seed crystal used to grow synthetic quartz.

Another indicator is the presence of so-called "Brazil twinning" which is typical of natural quartz crystals.

Infrared spectroscopy is used to graph the wavelengths of infrared light that the quartz absorbs. Synthetic and natural quartz exhibit distinctive patterns of absorption.

Don''t assume your local jeweler has the expertise to identify synthetic quartz. I have had many cases where gemological labs could not give a definitive answer on quartz samples, because they didn''t have an infrared spectrometer. This is really a job for experts.

 

[pwendyp]

hi there!

I adore amethysts, and highly recommend going with one of the gem cutters advised here. I''ve bought from Gary Dutton, and the set I got is gorgeous - a concave cut set of rounds, as yet unset.

I''ve also, just had a pair of trillions cut by Gary of Finewater Gems - to match the large one in my avatar. This pair proved a little problematic for him, but it all came good in the end! The pair isn''t quite an exact match in saturation, as Gary said there was some zoning in the material. However, in real life they look very very good together, and the colour tone is well matched.

Perhaps this highlights that there can be problems in colour matching, even for the best of the cutters. The size of the trillion pair, is however an exact match, and the cutting is superb, as usual for Gary!

I''m totally looking forward to getting these set after Christmas - and although I''ve gone round the houses with thinking about which colour to put with them...I''ve plumped for having just one small diamond as the accents, for each trillion, with a hint of yellow gold, but mostly set in silver.

Good luck with your search - there is good material out there, and of course the cutters to transform it!

 

[pwendyp]

The set from Gary Dutton...

 

[mousey]

Definitely contact Gary Dutton. I think he may have some that are not up on the website. I bought one recently from him, and couldn''t have been happier. I had bought another from a different (ebay) vendor and had to send it back as it wasn''t very nice, and the difference between the ebay 4 peaks ammy and Gary''s was unbelievable. Also he is one of the nicest vendors I have ever dealt with- I would trust him completely, and if I hadn''t already sourced and bought my engagement sapphire, I would have had him do it. Buying from Gary was a really great experience for me!

 

[Fly Girl]

I''d also like to recommend Richard Homer at www.concavegems.com . You would be sure to get absolutely stunning gemstones.

 

[T L]

I''m unsure what color amethyst the OP is looking for, but amethyst can come pale or very flat purple (Brazilian material) or more blue (African material), or more red (Four Peaks Arizona material). I do not have any of the Four Peaks amethyst that Gary Dutton carries, but I hear wonderful things about it. I have a large Zambian amethyst that looks like a tanzanite in some lighting since it contains a great deal of blue secondary color. This may or may not be something the OP wants. It is important to point out origin when looking for this material. I personally tend to stay away from the Brazilian material myself. Some Uruguayan material is very nice as well.

 

[meredith07]

So, I contacted Gary Dutton about the amethysts I want; I''ll wait and see if he can come up with anything.

I went to my jeweler today and we went over exactly what I wanted as far as the settings for the stone goes. He is also supposed to try to find some amethysts for me that I can go in to see soon.

My only concern about purchasing amethysts from my jeweler is that I KNOW they inflate their prices, and I don''t want to spend more on an amethyst than it is worth. They will give me a discount since we are repeat customers, but I''m going to wait and see what I like best the Gary Dutton amethysts or their amethysts (and compare prices

).

 

[T L]

Date: 11/30/2009 8:10:54 PM
Author: meredith07
So, I contacted Gary Dutton about the amethysts I want; I''ll wait and see if he can come up with anything.

I went to my jeweler today and we went over exactly what I wanted as far as the settings for the stone goes. He is also supposed to try to find some amethysts for me that I can go in to see soon.

My only concern about purchasing amethysts from my jeweler is that I KNOW they inflate their prices, and I don''t want to spend more on an amethyst than it is worth. They will give me a discount since we are repeat customers, but I''m going to wait and see what I like best the Gary Dutton amethysts or their amethysts (and compare prices

).

Most likely, your jeweler will only be able to get basic calibrated low-end Brazilian material as well. I would go to a colored stone specialist like Gary to get something nice.

 

[meredith07]

Tourmaline_Lover-

That is a really good point. The gems on africagems.com are also the basic calibrated type of amethysts.

It really is the last option I want to explore, but if I can''t find amethysts I like and can afford through Gary Dutton then it may have to be the option I have to take.

 

[T L]

Rio Grande is a catalog company that also sells very inexpensive calibrated Brazilian material to the trade (not sure if the material is up on their website, but it is in their gemstones catalog). You can sign up for their catalog, and purchase directly from them. I am not in the trade, but I have purchased tools from them. I do not know the quality of Africagems.com calibrated material, but for me, if I do care about the color qulaity, I do like to see the actual specimens I''m purchasing and not a stock photo. If you''re not interested in higher quality amethysts, than you can purchase the calibrated material very inexpensively through Rio Grande. They also sell a variety of other calibrated inexpensive gems. Good luck.

 

[meredith07]

Tourmaline_Lover-

That is a great tip. Thank you.

I am still interested in higher quality stones, but I will check it out.

Thanks again.

 

[Lady_Disdain]

I don''t think the finest material will be available in calibrated sizes - and such a wonderful wedding gift does deserve good quality. Do get in touch with the precision cutters and see what they have available - I don''t think you will regret it.

 

[chrono]

I’d go with Gary Dutton at www.diamondexpert.com for several reasons:
1. Lots of options, especially getting something different like the 4 Peaks amethyst over regular ones. The 4 peaks material has the gorgeous red flash. Please email or call him because he doesn’t list everything on his website. Many regular jewellers are only able to get regular amethysts. Those with excellent contacts might be able to source the Uruguayan or 4 Peaks though.
2. Great pricing and excellent customer service.

 

[meredith07]

So, I contacted Gary. He says he thinks he has what I want in stock. He is currently on his way to Ft. Lauderdale from Phoenix, so he will let me know next week what he has available.

My sister changed her mind from the trillion to the pear, but she may be willing to go back to the trillion if Gary doesn’t have any pears available.

I definitely love the higher quality gems better. My jeweler will most likely get amethysts from Stuller or one of the other trade suppliers. My sister and I saw some of the amethyst pieces they have available, but they were the flat Brazilian purple like Tourmaline said. They were pretty, but they are not beautiful or unique.

We’ll see. I have seen some of the prices on Gary Dutton’s site and they are very reasonable for such good quality stones. I hope he can find something because it would make the pieces even more personal and that much more special!

I do have another question. Would the stones from Gary fit into a standard mounting (ordered from Stullers or Roseco) or would they need a custom setting? I just need to know what to tell my jeweler because I’m supposed to go look at settings he is ordering (as well as the amethysts he orders) in a couple of days.

 

[chrono]

Most of Gary’s stones will fit the calibrated settings, but not all. Make sure you tell him that you want calibrated sizes.

 

[meredith07]

I''ll be sure to tell him when I email him back.

Thanks for letting me know, Chrono.

 

[Arkteia]

I had very good experience with africagems.com, although not with an amethyst. I bought two spessartites, a true Mandarin Namibian and a spiral-cut orange spessartite from Nigeria. Marc''s prices are in the average range, and I would trust him.

 

[meredith07]

Crasru - Thank you for the info on africagems.com. It''s good to hear someone had a good experience with them, because they do have some lovely free size gemstones.

So, good to know for future reference.