What you’re showing has very little gem value, but probably more value as a specimen.
what do you mean as a specimen?
Specimen refers to stones that are generally kept rough and displayed as is. Usually part of an exhibit.
However, I do disagree with the gem value assessment. While these may not be high-end amethysts, they are perfect for those starting out in the trade, or for those who do more fantasy pieces/carvings.
An example of what the large piece can be made into by a skilled cutter.
https://www.youtube.com/@hedronrockworks
Bulk amethysts are frequently cut in Asian countries due to lower labor costs before being shipped elsewhere for sale. This is true for most large bulk “low value” stones.
If you buy it by the kilo, you should be able to find gem quality amethyst for under $5/gm in the rough. Look around on the net. Try rough selling groups on FB. Search with Google for gem rough dealers. If you’re asking which country has the best sellers, I don’t think there is one country, as amethyst is available from SA and Africa and a number of other places. Another thing to bear in mind is that lots of cut amethyst is synthetic and especially with ametrine, it is reputedly almost all synthetic. Learn your gemology and search for how to distinguish natural from synthetic on this site. There are telltale inclusions that indicate natural. If the stone has no inclusions, it’s impossible to tell if it’s natural or not except with tests that cost more than the stone. In the rough, you do have crystal shapes to guide you, but so much amethyst is cobbed that you may not see crystal features…is zoning only in natural, or do synthetics show it, too? I’ve forgotten, so I leave that to you. -royjohn
I have beautiful colors and cut ones from Uruguay tgat i find nice. Contries around the bording ruver of Uruguay are nice. Seems the last few years more and more of all gemstines are coming from Africa. I gave a nice Zambian oval emerald from thre that i think is about 7 cts
Hi Kend,
Let me clarify what I said. You can find clean, gem quality amethyst by the kilo for about $5/gm. If you want the absolute best…and, yes, the stones from Uruguay and Zambia have a great reputation for being the best…you might pay more…or you might get more for the cut stones. However, amethyst in my price guide does not go over $65/ct in large stones of 10-20 cts. That’s a jeweler “memo” wholesale price. So retail could be more than that in a large, well-cut, clean stone of absolutely AAA best color. At that price, you’d probably see it set in gold with melee diamonds around it and you could tout it’s provenance as “finest Uruguay amethyst with red and blue flash.” Another issue with amethyst and other natural quartzes is that they can be clean in the sense that there are no visible inclusions, but they may not have the absolute greatest clearness and transparency of which quartz is capable (diaphaneity). For example, amethyst from the American locality in Georgia called Jackson Crossroads is supposed to be incredibly brilliant and clear (diaphanous). Whether that is true of the material from Uruguay and Zambia would require a side by side comparison, I would think, which I haven’t done. But that’s the nice thing about selling…usually the customer doesn’t bring in a comparison stone, so you can say what you like, as long as you don’t actually lie, misrepresent or run afoul of the FTC regs (in the US).
Thank you for the information, I was able to acquire some at a good mine price , where would be the place to resell them ?
Thank you for the information, I was able to acquire some at a good mine price , where would be the place to resell them ?
Thanks Roy. I appreciate you’re input and I think we are sort of on the same page. Its always great to see other people’s perspective. It’s true what you say about comparisons although i wasnt awate of Georgia and of course personally i would never try to misrepresent things myself … personally i feel like i underestimate.
Best,
Ken
I can’t help myself from commenting on the conversation that you guys have had I see both of you seem to be knowledgeable with good advice I don’t know if it helped dom but it seems like he was going to do what he wanted from the beginning which was find facet able amethyst
material and then sell it I’m not sure if he had a cut cut it himself which I highly doubt or is just looking to sell the rough I bought a large estate from a brother that inherited his brothers gem and mineral collection as well as his gem and mineral inventory he was a full-time dealer living in Africa at the time of his death with a very impressive collection and inventory the brother had no education in geology or gemology but when I seen him sign a 7-in smokey sphere and rose quartz sphere for $400 for the pair I approached him and asked if he knew what they were and if he had any more jammer mineral material that he was selling he explained the situation I explained to him the value and how far off he was that earned his trust enough for him to explain to me the situation and for us to work out a deal where I would buy the entire estate so he would not have to piece it out with without knowing how to price it I ended up with a lot of zambiai and amethyst already faceted as well as about 10 lb of rough to get a perfect Stone is not easy unless you’re cutting 3 mm rounds or smaller which I am definitely not going to spend the time to do and since I don’t outsource cutting overseas because I don’t want my company to encourage poor wages and labor conditions I don’t mind outsourcing to people I know in the states as long as they’re good enough to produce a high quality cut if it’s something extremely expensive I cut it myself I find it hard to price the best amethyst at $60 a carry it mostly because I couldn’t imagine spending that type of money on amethyst I could also never put it in gold that would pay me although I do understand people do do it and they do love amethyst it’s something in my own psychology that says amethyst is not worth much I’d rather invest in Garnett if I need a purple stone as well as I’ve never seen synthetic amethyst I don’t think it would be valuable enough to produce it what I do see all the time is lab created color changing Sapphire it was the first imitation alexandrite it goes from a reddish purple to a bluish when you change light sources you can always check it with the UV light the gem in the gym jar is a lab created color changing Sapphire they’re beautiful cheap durable I hate synthetic stones but a lot of times when I find people who think they have perfect amethyst just like the guy that had this one for sale he was selling it for $20 I could tell what it was by looking at it so I bought it he didn’t believe me when I told him what it was he swear we still around at this even after I showed him a change colors Dom what I’m hoping you get out of this and I believe the other people that have commented have mentioned it as well as you need to be more educated before you rush into a purchase when you don’t have a place to sell it yet or an idea of where to sell it or would it could be worth how could you possibly buy it and know that it’s quality or what it’s potential was or is the world of gem and minerals has a lot of obvious because it is a very addicting and fun hobby but a very difficult profession to make profitable and I would say impossible to make profitable without any education of geology/gemology I wish you luck also I highly recommend purchasing a membership from IGS their pricing list is used throughout the entire market don’t take the pricing literally but it’s a good place to find a abundance of information you could even take their gemology course that would give you a leg up on most newer hobbiest and if you’re very serious check out gias gemology course it’s a lot more expensive but it’s as good as it gets igs’s degree is the next best thing for a fraction of the price
