Chances are you’ve seen amethyst in a lot of your friends’ jewelry collections and admired its beautiful vibrant lilac color.
Thinking to yourself about how you would love to have a similar piece for yourself and wondering what you need to know about price and quality.
Despite amethyst being such a show stopper you actually need not worry about price as you would a diamond or emerald.
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How Much Does Amethyst Cost?
This is because the average cost per carat for amethyst is $20-$30 for amethyst that is of good quality, for the exceptionally good pieces you might have to pay $40, but hopefully that won’t break the bank.
Amethyst is also different when compared to many other gems as the price only gradually increases with the size of the gem.
When compared to diamonds, that increase by the thousands per carat, this is pretty surprising. This is a very reasonable price for this particular gem as it used to be as highly valued as a Sapphire or diamond.
Reason Why Amethyst is Not Expensive
The reason behind this is the same reason that many gems are worth a fortune in one century and in the next can’t even be given away as a family heirloom.
This is because of rarity. The reason why gems are so valuable to society is directly correlated to how difficult they are to find in nature.
Now, that you probably are thinking about how some gems are significantly more aesthetically pleasing than others, and you’re right.
However, doesn’t a lab grown and a naturally mined sapphire look identical? The same with how moissanite looks just like a diamond at a fraction of the price.
A gem that is found in nature is infinitely more difficult to obtain than one made in a lab, thus making it more expensive and more valuable.
Amethyst is very interesting compared to the likes of sapphires or diamonds because even when naturally mined it still doesn’t have much value compared to other stones.
The reason for this is because the amount of amethyst that is available to be mined is significantly higher than some other stones.
Lose Of Value Of Amethyst
Amethyst lost a lot of its value in the early 19th century when large amethyst deposits were discovered in Brazil.
Today around 5,000 to 10,000 tons of amethyst are mined each year, yes that’s each year! In comparison there are only 133 million carats of diamonds mined each year.
To put that into perspective, 1 carat weighs .2 grams, and .2 grams equals 0.000440925 pounds. So as you can probably tell from those measurements 133 million carats isn’t as much as you might think.
Especially not when compared to 5,000 – 10,000 tons of amethyst that is mined every year, it’s pretty understandable that amethyst doesn’t hold its value next to rare gems like sapphires, diamonds or even pearls.
Also, due to its availability amethyst has also been downgraded to a semi-precious stone. This to me is fairly upsetting because by all other accounts amethyst has all the making of a great stone.
Reasons To Purchase An Amethyst
It’s very hard and durable, comes in many different shades of lilac and can be cut into many unique shapes making it very versatile when it comes to making jewelry.
Instead the vast majority of amethyst that is mined isn’t even used in jewelry, but is kept in its geode as a stunning juxtaposition from a rough and dull outer shell to the shimmering and vibrant interior.
I can tell you from personal experience they make very attractive and sturdy bookends, too.
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Where amethyst come from?
Amethyst comes from many different countries all over the world, including Siberia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Uruguay, and even Zambia.
Amethyst can not only be separated into sections because of its color and size, but also if it’s more of a decorative amethyst for around the house, or one that is gem quality.
I’m sure you’ve seen the rough and uncut amethyst that are halved geodes. Sometimes they are just for decoration and sometimes they are turned into things like coffee tables with glass tops, which I personally find quite striking.
Best Amethyst Quality To Purchase
The amethyst that fits into this category is primarily found in Brazil and Uruguay, which makes sense because these two countries account for half of the amethyst that is mined each year.
The amethyst that is the most gem quality are typically from Zambia, Brazil and Syberia. In fact, Syberian amethysts have set the standard for what a quality amethyst looks like, so much that the term Siberian Amethyst is considered a type of amethyst.
This means that an amethyst can be mined from another country and still be considered Siberian amethyst based on the color.
Siberian amethyst Characteristics
The characteristics of Siberian amethyst are a deep vibrant purple with flecks of red and blue. Since the 1950’s some of the most valuable amethyst has come out of Zambia.
The color of the Zambian amethyst is incredibly rich and vibrant, and the stones that are mined are considerably smaller in size than other countries’ amethysts. In my experience in jewelry, this makes Zambian amethyst the rarest and most valuable type of amethyst.
Siberian and Brazilian amethyst are still very desirable and vibrant themselves, although considering how plentiful Brazilian amethyst is, I don’t think it retains its value as compared to Siberian and Zambian amethysts.
Conclusion
So, now that you have all the facts about amethyst, and even some personal opinions, would you purchase this vibrant yet inexpensive gem? If it were me I would absolutely purchase a pair of amethyst earrings or a matching suite, why not? However, I would pay close attention to the color and location from where it was mined from. Who knows, in a few decades the amethyst reserves in Brazil and Uruguay might suddenly run dry, like they did in other countries long ago. All of the sudden that Zambian amethyst you bought for its affordability might become a rarity again.
