Ametrine question

[Debbie K]

Okay, you faceters! I have a question regarding Ametrine.

How does the orientation of the color zoning affect the body color of the stone? For example, if the yellow is on top and the purple on the bottom, will the overall body color be purple? And would the converse be true? I have seen composite stones (tsavorite garnet imitations) that have red garnet above the girdle and green glass underneath whose body color is green; the red isn't apparent unless the stone is viewed from the side. Or should the stone be oriented with the color going from one side to the other?

I have some really pretty ametrine, not striking color, but absolutely eye clean and clear, and I would like to try to facet some of it, but would like to have the color be primarily the light yellow with the lavender flashes. I don't know quite how to approach a bi-color stone (of any stone, for that matter) to facet it. I have a first edition Graves (I think it almost qualifies as an antique) with enough laps to get in trouble and access to GemCad.

Any suggestions would be most welcome.

Debbie

[lithicbeads]

  Amethyst is a much better source of purple , cheaper and not muddy brown as can be the case with ametrine . Ametrine that has a sharp delineation of colors is usually oriented exactly as the colors are in a bi-colored tourmaline. These stones are usually cuts that are quite a bit longer than they are wide. Color mixing  can be very beautiful but these cuts are more difficult and work best with saturated colors.

[Debbie K]

I was more interested in getting the yellow color with the lavender flashes. A bi-colored tourmaline can only be cut one way; as if you cut it with the C axis on top all you'd see is black. I think I may have a little more flexibility with a quartz? I don't know, which is why I'm asking. I spoke to a friend with limited faceting experience; the best we could come up with is to try both ways and see which looks better. I hate to waste a stone experimenting, but it might be the only way to figure it out.

I have about 8 that I can mess around with; most of them around 100cts in the rough. They're too big to facet at this size, maybe the answer is to cut one in half and try it both ways.

Thanks for your suggestions, and please help with any more. As you can tell, I don't know what I'm doing.

Debbie K

[Eu_citzen]

Orientation is everything with colour zoned rough.
I had a very light amethyst which I oriented wrong, trigonal colour zoning.
The orientation was not wrong by a lot, but still it didn't sit well in the culet.
While rotating it goes from light purple to colourless.

Would you mind sharing some pics of the rough?

Personally I'd try to put the colours side-by-side rather then one colour over the other, if the rough allows. Maybe a rectangular cut would be optimal.

[gemfeller]

Hi,

I think you need to be careful in choosing a faceting design as well.  The best separation of colors can probably be achieved with a standard emerald cut.  I tried a rectagular Barion design on this one, hoping the "fountain of light" effect would create something unusually interesting. It yielded an attractive stone with the face-up colors pretty well blended while viewing from each end shows the separate amethyst and citrine hues.

[Debbie K]

Willie:

So sorry I didn't see your post; I will dig out the ametrine in question and try to get a picture of it. The colors are not dramatic at all, pretty pale.

I saw a faceted ametrine which had solid lavender body color and yellow flashes which was outstanding-looking on a website or ebay a while ago. I just wondered how it was achieved.

Gemfeller:

Really beautiful stone! You oriented yours with the colors on either side; the one I saw looked like it was cut the other way. I just wondered how they achieved the look they did, lavender with yellow flashes. It almost looked like a color shift stone.

I'm so glad this post got revisited, maybe it'll make me take the plunge and do something with these stones!

Debbie K

[Eu_citzen]

An ordinary stepcut is a really good bet for any ametrine of bi-colour gem. :)

[Debbie K]

Willie:

I've LOST the ametrine! That's what happens when you have too many rocks! I've turned the studio upside down and I must have put it in a "special" place because it's no where to be found.

If I locate it, I'll take a picture and ask you guys advice on what to do.

Debbie K

[Eu_citzen]

Oops! I know that feeling. I keep my rough in a boxe and plastic bags since I lost several opals.

[39don]

Willie:

I've LOST the ametrine! That's what happens when you have too many rocks! I've turned the studio upside down and I must have put it in a "special" place because it's no where to be found.

If I locate it, I'll take a picture and ask you guys advice on what to do.

Debbie K

I also  have many "Special Places" and when I find it or them it's going to be like Christmas. I hope I find them before it's too late.

39don

[bobby1]

I always find my "lost" stuff when I'm looking for something else. The message is look for something else and you will find the lost stuff.
Bob