Friday, December 18, 2009

Ametrine is Not What it Used to Be!...

In looking at some gemstones for sale recently online, it reminded me that I haven't brought up a conversation with anyone in the trade regarding what many (outside the US) are calling Ametrine. These "gemstones" are bright blue and green, yellow and green, orange and blue, yellow and blue, orange and green and even what one expects of Ametrine - Purple and Yellow.

The word/term Ametrine is a contraction of Amethyst-Citrine, where Amethyst is purple and Citrine is a gold or yellow. The material comes from only one place in the world - Bolivia, not far from the Brasilian border. The material coming out of this one mine (Anahi), can be just Citrine, just Amethyst or a combination of the two - Ametrine. Cutting a gemstone with the two colors will produce a gem that one can call Ametrine.

There are various grades of this material also, just like all gemstones. We still have some incredible material purchased in the very early 1980s while on a gemstone purchasing trip in Brasil. These gems are a deep purple and deep yellow. This is in keeping with what All That Glitters seeks to place into inventory - gems that are unique, rare or unusual for that species, in this case, a nice deep rich color for both the purple and the yellow. The typical Ametrine that one usually sees on the market, especially on tv, is the very pale material - so pale at times, that one must hold it against a white background to observe the color. This more common material is the cheapest material in Ametrine.

Some people/businesses selling the 'off' color "Ametrine" are also indicating that it is from Bolivia and natural. A few have stated that it has been irradiated or at least treated in some way. One thing that we can say for sure is that this is NOT Ametrine, and it is not natural color. It could be natural Quartz, but some process has been applied to create two distinct colors - so all this being said, the color is not natural. The sad thing about this is that the term Ametrine is being applied to these 'gems'. This helps to confuse the retail customer only more with confusing terminology, various treatments, synthetics and simulants! The only way that anyone should be selling it as naturally coming from Bolivia, is that the quartz was mined in Bolivia (and then it was treated). That would be the closest one can come to natural Bolivian origin!

I am also afraid that these same dealers who have these off color Ametrines, also has some deeper colored purple and yellow faceted gemstones, (and this can certainly be called Ametrine). Is it natural color or perhaps even lab grown or irradiated material? Having been familiar with these material for over 30 years and knowing about the saturation of color, I would say that these too have been treated.

For those purchasing the off color Ametrines, be aware - this is not Ametrine and the color is highly suspicious. I would also caution those purchasing fine colored Ametrine (or even a medium color or perhaps even any color of purple/yellow Ametrine), that the gemstone might not be a true Ametrine from the Anahi Mine in Bolivia. I would feel far more comfortable in purchasing from dealers I know, have known for decades, as well as those that I know purchase rough directly from the mine owners, versus these companies (mostly outside of the U.S.) that have an Ametrine of even the expected color, but who also sell the blue/green, yellow/blue, orange/blue and all the other variations.

Since our material was purchased decades ago, we at least know that there is nothing unusual with the color and that it is natural. Enjoy the World of Gemstones and gemstone buying, but be suspicious at times when something very unusual comes along AND one is seeing it in quantity - a similar situation to the recent diffused Andesine Feldspar story....

http://www.atggems.com/Photos_Ametrine.htm

Thursday, December 10, 2009

All That Glitters Back in Full Swing!

With internet access (via satellite) coming on line Dec 9th, All That Glitters is back up and running in all aspects - and in time to continue shipping items for the holiday season!

Check with us to insure that the items you wish to purchase are available in our West Coast office.

For those who are new to All That Glitters and have made a purchase this year, thank you for your purchase and Welcome to the All That Glitters Family where we have been providing unique, distinctive, exclusive fine quality colored gemstones to the public, trade, investors and collectors for almost 30 years. (And at much lower than expected prices!)

Wishing everyone, whether customers or not, Happy and Healthy Holidays!




All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for December 2009

Late October and all of November has been challenging for us as we are in transition setting up our West Coast Office. Our inventory arrived
a few weeks after we did but is now available. A number of items may
be in our East Coast Office and not available for some time, but most
of our inventory is available and can be shipped within 24 hours after
payment is received. As of late November, we still do not have
internet access. Our normal few hours response time is being delayed
by a few days until we have access to the internet to respond. Any
phone messages we receive are also delayed to some extent. Please
bare with us as we settle into our other office. We anticipate normal
operation in the not too distant future.


Here are the changes to look for on the All That Glitters website for
December 2009:


This Months Special: Custom Hand Made Sterling Silver Agate Druzy Pendant
A Wonderful Gift for the Holiday Season!...


This Months Gem News: AGTA Announces Closing of Gemological Testing Center
http://www.atggems.com/Monthly_News.htm


Newly Faceted or Photographed Gemstones:
Two Natural Oregon Sunstones back from our Master Cutter! Incredible
pieces in size, color and cutting and a must see...


All That Glitters Website and Info Changes for November 2009

Due to our transition to our West Coast office during the winter season, there were no changes to our website for the month of November.