Calling Mr Barrett (aka my husband)

[LD]

In your considered opinion, where does the best amethyst come from please?

 

[Barrett]

Well, crystals and specimen wise nothing to me beats Brandberg, Namibia!
Color wise I find, as well as TL, Zambia to produce the best color.
Of course, other places can show and produce just as good a color and crystals as the two above but consistancy is key here. Rick Martin once told me has has an amethyst from Tanzania that blows everything else away(my words).
JXR is primo in my book. After digging at locations like JXR 4 & 5 and surrounding areas in the last year I realize now why original JXR is so much better than most other locations. The crystals were formed in gas pockets seperate from the other pockets so they had their own little ecosystems to form top luster and shape. Unlike most other amethyst deposits, which form in veins, JXR crystals didn't have all kinds of other gunk or multiple hydrothermal events affecting the clarity, shape, luster that you see with other spots. Some formed in veins but they sealed themselves up after the first hydro event to leave a seperate system independent of other vein systems which in turn meant consistant cooling and a homogenous soup to form such large, wellformed crystals. Brandberg crystals formed the same way as JXR material being formed in gas pockets except they had lots of junk like mud in the pockets when they ended up forming which gave them the sweet 3 phase inclusions.
I base my opinions on having been mentored by the "amethystking" himself, Rodney Moore. I have seen amethyst crystals and rough from all over the world that he has owned or sold. My opinion is based on and mimics his!

P.S....when is the bridal shower?

Here he is being filmed for Travel Channels: "Cash and Treasures" at JXR

 

[LD]

Thank you very much oh knowledgeable one! Much appreciated.

I hate rain so if there are showers involved in this bridal thing, we may have to wait until summer!

 

[Barrett]

I dug at Graves Mountain yesterday where it rained harder than anytime I have been digging. Waterfalls coming off the mountain and like 3-4 inches. I was soaked. The Queen has a rutile from Graves Mountain

Speaking of amethyst, Brandberg, and Rodney(the amethystking)
This crystal he DUG OUT TODAY in Namibia! He is over there right now pulling these out of the ground! This is right after they blasted.
Tell me this ain't sweet

 

[LD]

W W look at that! I really love to see blue in Amethyst. From your experience, once that crystal's faceted is it likely to be much darker or lighter or is it impossible to tell?

 

[Barrett]

Impossible to tell...try to concentrate that color in the pavilion/cutlet

 

[Barrett]

It's hard to beat a zambian when it comes to color. I never liked red trending amethyst...I find them to be...not sure what the right word is..they don't seem to pop and look metallic looking to me. I find the blues to be rich and full of depth.

 

[LD]

Thank you that's what I wanted to hear! There's one I have my eye on and it has quite a lot of blue ............ ssssssh because it's a secret for now but if it's a keeper I'll post a picture next weekend! Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[chrono]

Gorgeous piece right there in the hand. I am also very partial to amethyst with blue flash. The red ones end up looking a bit metallic to my eye as well.

 

[T L]

Although, I've never seen any in person, I hear Four Peaks is fine, although it does suffer from a great deal of zoning. I do favor Zambian and Uruguayan material, from what I've seen.

Jason,
That's a very pretty crystal, and I would probably leave it in its natural form rather than facet it.

 

[Haywood74]

I dug at Graves Mountain yesterday where it rained harder than anytime I have been digging. Waterfalls coming off the mountain and like 3-4 inches. I was soaked. The Queen has a rutile from Graves Mountain

Speaking of amethyst, Brandberg, and Rodney(the amethystking)
This crystal he DUG OUT TODAY in Namibia! He is over there right now pulling these out of the ground! This is right after they blasted.
Tell me this ain't sweet

Compared to the other Brandberg's I have seen, that one has a lot of blue in it. I have noticed something about ammy's and blue color, and we may be seeing it here. It's been my experience that some cameras (such as mine) tend to emphasize the blue component and makes the stones appear more saturated than they are in person. Of course, this just could be my camera and I am a fruitloop.

For what it's worth, my 2 cents worth on what is the "best" is subjective to the beholder. I agree, Zambians are pretty darned good. I can say this much, the wife's Zambians and the JXR's she has in various jewelry are pretty much indistinguishable unless you know ahead of time which you have. To me, the rarity of a JXR makes it more desirable to have than a Zambian, but that could possibly be just a perceived thing on my end though.

 

[T L]

I heard they are no longer able to mine Zambian material though. Is that true?

 

[chrono]

I heard they are no longer able to mine Zambian material though. Is that true?

I'd love to know more as well because I keep reading/hearing that it is still being mined.

 

[Barrett]

"Amethyst deposits in the Mwakambiko Hills occur in a northeast trending belt. They intrude basement rocks. The amethyst belt is some 30 km long 15 km wide and appears to be related to the boundary faults separating Karoo from Basement. The deposits have been known since the 1950s and Northern Minerals started commercial production in 1956, which is now being run as Kariba Minerals Ltd.

Annual production of amethyst is about 700 tons. Currently the major producer is Kariba Minerals Limited, which is jointly owned by the Government and Lonrho, a private company."

Not sure when this was written
from Zambia mining page

 

[T L]

I heard the Zambian mine was under water (????)

 

[Barrett]

Bear Williams messaged me about a year or two ago saying he had someone with kilo's of material for sale. Nothing ever came of it. Not sure what has become of the mines. I think Zambia is one of the most underappreciated gem producing countries in the world.

I wuv you LD

 

[Starzin]

Ummm...so is this the sort of thing we should be looking for in an amethyst?

 

[T L]

Ummm...so is this the sort of thing we should be looking for in an amethyst?

That's very pretty. Super fine amethyst reminds me a bit of deep violet tanzanite.

 

[chrono]

Ummm...so is this the sort of thing we should be looking for in an amethyst?

Oh YES..not too light and not too dark, fully saturated and just for that extra something special, that lovely blue and/or red flash.

 

[Starzin]

Pleased you approve TL and Chrono, it rather took my breath away
However I did forget my own recent copyright advice about posting the link so here it is http://www.artoffiligree.com/index2.php
Alex Maryaskin is the designer/craftsman. All the jewellery is handmade and while some of it is far too fancy for my taste some of it (such as the ring above) is spot on. Check out the pendants - many pieces are very affordable and inspirational.

 

[Haywood74]

Pleased you approve TL and Chrono, it rather took my breath away
However I did forget my own recent copyright advice about posting the link so here it is http://www.artoffiligree.com/index2.php
Alex Maryaskin is the designer/craftsman. All the jewellery is handmade and while some of it is far too fancy for my taste some of it (such as the ring above) is spot on. Check out the pendants - many pieces are very affordable and inspirational.

according to that link, the ring shown is actually a purple sapphire in yellow gold....nonetheless, gorgeous!

 

[Starzin]

Good Grief!!! So it is. I had saved it some time ago and didn't recheck. A purple sapphire of 7.65ct no wonder it's a little out of my price range Wonder if it's treated? Okay, I'll get back in my box now - sorry for the threadjack folks!

 

[T L]

This is a true Zambian amethyst, and the color is very close to the stone above, which is why were easily fooled.

 

[Haywood74]

I have to wipe the drool a little bit every time I see that pic TL....

 

[Starzin]

I have to wipe the drool a little bit every time I see that pic TL....

Aaaah! Ditto. I knew there was one around here somewhere that I'd seen, just didn't know it was yours TL

Just gorgeous!!!! Lucky lady

 

[chrono]

And TL once again proves that a good amethyst is truly an under-rated stone. It's truly beautiful!

 

[T L]

Thanks, I bought that one before there was the invention of the internet, from an exotic gem dealer that specialized in very exotic stones, and only sold a few at a time. He told me it was Zambian.

 

[Richard M.]

Is it ok for someone other than Barrett to venture an opinion? Ah what the heck! I'll take the risk.

I don't think there' s a single locality that produces the "best" amethyst. Most mines produce a range of colors, saturations and secondary hues. A lot depends the tastes of the purchaser. But some locations tend to produce distinctive colors like Zambia and a few others. Zambian amethyst is probably my all-around choice in fine purple crystalline quartz.

There's very little on the market these days but another of my favorite amethysts is from the nearly depleted Pau d'Arco deposit in Brazil. The Pau d'Arco seems to run a bit more to warm reddish hues, not a lot of blue. The rough is very large but most finished stones are in the 2-carat range due to color zoning and inclusions. Even in small sizes this material holds its intense color. It's one of the very few amethysts that does not change to citrine color when heated.

Uruguay produces some magnificent dark amethyst that tends to stay principally in the purple hue range (little blue, little red as secondary colors). Again, it's a matter of taste as to the consumer's preferred color.

The notable American localities, 4 Peaks, AZ and Jackson's Crossroads, GA, have been mentioned. Both produce very fine gems. The Georgia amethyst has been discussed here a lot so it needs little mention. The best of the 4 Peaks material compares with the world's finest but there seems to be very little of it available.

Beautiful amethyst comes from many places: Canada, Mexico, Korea, Russia, Madagascar, etc. Let our own tastes (along with your pocketbook!) be your guide in choosing your very own amethyst.

Richard M (Rick Martin)

 

[T L]

They used to say Siberian amethyst from the now depleted Russian mines was the best, and it was used in royal jewelry. I've seen some of it in photos, and wasn't terribly impressed, but they could have been just bad photographs. It supposedly had a more reddish secondary. The Zambian material seems to be more of a blue secondary, with the red flashes of course.

This is a Fabrege brooch with a true Siberian amethyst.

More examples of Siberian amethyst here.

http://www.royal-magazin.de/russia/jewels-of-the-tsars/romanoff-amethyst-girandolen.htm

 

[T L]

Beautiful amethyst comes from many places: Canada, Mexico, Korea, Russia, Madagascar, etc. Let our own tastes (along with your pocketbook!) be your guide in choosing your very own amethyst.

Richard M (Rick Martin)

I noticed you didn't mention Brazil.

I will also say that my personal preference is to always choose a stone with a distinctive secondary color, whether it's red or blue. I cannot stand straight flat grape purple amethyst, no matter how deep the tone. They bore me to pieces, and they don't have that distinctive all important red flash. Stones with a nice secondary will be richer and more vibrant.