Amethysts(?) with inclusions

[anon]

Hello, first time poster here. I don't know a lot about minerals, but at a flea market I bought a cluster of crystals that looked interesting, and a friend of mine who is studying geology told me that it looked like amethyst with inclusions. I searched on the internet, and some of the pictures of amethysts seemed to match what I've found.

There were lots of cracks and milky colored pieces in the cluster, so I carefully chopped off the nicer pieces, which can be seen on the photo below.

The price was (the equivalent of) $1.50, was it a good deal or did I buy junk that's really common? Also, when assessing the value of amethysts, how do colored inclusions affect the value?

[leonardo]

Great price for purple......It depends on where it comes from

[anon]

Okay, interesting. Unfortunately I have no idea where it was mined/found...

[mikeyrocks]

You made out extremely well with your find for a $1.50. This material appears to be cacoxenite from Brazil and is rather pricey. If you check out a online shop I found looking for the correct spelling; I found 'AZBLUEROCKERS'. They had a number of cabs on their site. It's a golden rutile inclusion in the Amethyst crystal. I hope you kept the trimmings as well...you will see why when you see the cabochons. Have fun with it!

[feidzd]

very beatiful, this is where to find it.

[agatesrule]

Here's some amethyst with cacoxenite inclusions.
At the bottom of the page, you'll see four links for more cacoxenite pics.

dirtyrockhounds.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Finds&thread=5898&page=1#41275

[anon]

Thanks for the info.

I'm wondering, is it common that jewelers buy raw stones like these? If so, what prices could one expect?

[rockshine]

Anon, a jeweler is just a glorified store keeper who buys a packet of ready cut and mounted stones, just like the grocery store buys packages of presliced bacon. Most jewelery stores have no expertise in identifying or cutting stones, although they usually can place a stone in a setting and squeeze the prongs over it. If you have a local jeweler who does custom design, stone cutting. and silversmithing, he or she might be interested, but you would have more success trying to interest a hobbyist or a mineral collector.
www.etsy.com/search?includes[]=tags&q=amethyst+cacoxenite
Here is a link to etsy seller who has finished stones. As you can see, some of them are quite pricy, but look at the beautiful color play and designs created by nature. But having an expensive finished piece doesn't mean the raw material is overly expensive. Color and quality play a big role: If the stone is so fractured that it will not cut a decent stone, then a buck or two per crystal may be all you can expect, or someone may go 20 bucks or more for a stone they really like.