Color Change Amethyst

[Cave Keeper]

Oh, no, I just bought one of those!

Fellow color stone enthusiasts, there''s a discussion going on at eBay''s gemstone chatroom about color change Amethyst.

Some people claim the stone is actually (perhaps man-made) Corundrum doped with somthing to give it color changing (under different lighting) properties. The color change is as strking, if not more, than that of Alexandrite.

The stone is now so popular, I''ve only managed to bid for one of smaller ones successfully, as the prices per carat are so high.

 

[Edward Bristol]

That sounds very far off.
Why should someone sell synthetic color change corundum as amethyst? Haeh?
However, I never heard of colorchange amethyst.

Edward Bristol
www.wildfishgems.com

 

[rubydick]

Date: 8/9/2005 10:05:55 PM
Author:Cave Keeper
Oh, no, I just bought one of those!

Fellow color stone enthusiasts, there''s a discussion going on at eBay''s gemstone chatroom about color change Amethyst.

Some people claim the stone is actually (perhaps man-made) Corundrum doped with somthing to give it color changing (under different lighting) properties. The color change is as strking, if not more, than that of Alexandrite.

The stone is now so popular, I''ve only managed to bid for one of smaller ones successfully, as the prices per carat are so high.

This smacks of vanadium-colored synthetic corundum. Which is just one more reason why buying gems on eBay is a no-no. It all reminds me of something someone once said:

"The lottery is a tax on those with poor math skills."

 

[Richard M.]

Date: 8/9/2005 10:40:18 PM
Author: Richard Hughes

Date: 8/9/2005 10:05:55 PM



This smacks of vanadium-colored synthetic corundum.

Out of curiosity I did a search on EBay for "color change amethyst," and indeed the images showing the greatest color change very much resemble doped Verneuil corundum. One can''t say for sure without testing but how many E-Bay buyers own refractometers?

On returns I noticed most sellers of these stones charge restocking fees up to 20%. So on a $50 domestic purchase ($55 after postage) an unhappy customer would be out another $5 for return postage and $10 restocking fee, $20 in all plus the hassle of repackaging and schlepping to the Post Office. That''s another tax on the mathematically impaired. Some EBay sellers make a nice living just on restocking fees for merchandise that clearly doesn''t match the glowing description.

Richard M.