Many years ago before the chinese began sucking up all the best gemstone rough I was a hobbyist facter and you could still get very good rough to cut. Then the chinese arrived, the supply dried up, my passion waned and I moved onto other things including silver stacking. I had a few really nice pieces that I intended to cut one day but never got around to them so I'm thinking of swapping them for silver. This piece of tourmaline is probably the best I've got left. Think it cost me around $180 about fifteen years ago. Quality VVS Weight 14.9-15 carats 15mm long, 10.6mm wide, 9.7mm deep C axis is open and same colour (hard to see in the photos) Two sets of photos. The one with a grey background is incidental sunlight and the other set a 60w incandescent bulb half a metre overhead. I think a cutter should get at least a 6 carat finished stone as the shape is nearly perfect. So. Big question. What do you think it's worth in ounces of silver???? Cheers Stephen
Its hard to tell as different monitors show colours differently in the different shots it appears to me as pinky-red or redish-orange-brown. What colour is it in real life? Clarity looks pretty nice as the flaws all appears to be close to the surface and if it faces up with nice colour with the bump side down I think you could probably get closer to 7-8 cts depending on the cutter. It really depends on the colour as to how much silver you could get, my guess would be between $10-25 a ct. Depending on the colour. Possibly more if in real life it is a really nice pinkish-Red.
Id hate to break this to you, but $7-10/ct for a good stone (like yours) is the going rate in the wholesalers market. Keep it for a few more years as there are mines in Tibet that are closing so it might be worth more in a few years.
Brisbanecoin Colour has almost caused more arguments than anything else in the world of faceting. Only the subject of "treated" stones causes more. A purist will say the best rubellite should be identical to the colour of the best rubies from Burma. I.E. brilliant red mixed with a strong touch of purple. Other say it should be a strong red with just a touch of purple. Those who really want to start an argument say it should also have a touch of pink. I'm in the purists camp red/purple. This stone could do with a touch more red to be the best but it's close. Sammy I'll do a deal with you. You buy all the 12+ct rough (single stones), VVS (I.E.flawless) tourmaline with good colour (red/blue/green/yellow) and I'll buy it from you for $13/ct. You make a quick thirty percent easy profit and I'll sell it to amateur faceters at $30+/ct and make a fortune. How about it Sammy???? Cheers all Stephen
Geez man, settle down. You asked a question and I did you a favor an answered it. If you want to trade tourmalines I can out you in touch with a wholesaler in Brazil who can get it for you - the same guy who tried to sell to me a few months ago. If you think they're worth $30/ct then why did post a question asking for a price???
Apologies Sammy. I shouldn't have been so harsh. I guess what I was trying to say was that I have never found dealers who would sell top quality rough at less than what they could get if the stone was cut and top quality cut rubellite seems to be selling at around $100/ct for large (>6ct) stones. There are a few dealers selling reasonably good rough at between 30-40/ct such as Hilmar Bosch. http://africangemstones.us/tourmaline-10-ct/ Cheers Stephen
