Ametrine

Partially it occurs to be purple and partially orange-yellow. It is typically given a rectangular shape with a 50-50 pairing of amethyst and citrine. So, with ametrine one can have the color of two gems for the price of only one.

Ametrine is very popular among the artistic cutters and carvers. They play with its colors, creating landscapes in the stone. Sometimes, the artists give a checkerboard pattern to the top, which increases the light reflection.

Ametrine is durable and is suited for a variety of jewelry uses. The sizes and shapes are also available in abundance and the color contrast is mainly pronounced in sizes over seven carats. Taking into account of its availability from a single mine, it is not so expensive.

Ametrine helps in achieving a balance between the spiritual and the material world. It is also used to enhance the cooperation with others. It gives higher mental opening for meditation and inspiration.

It is of a pale lilac, mauve or bluish violet colour. Very popular in the past, its current value is stable as new mines have recently been discovered. Moreover, its worth has been further undermined over recent years by the flood of tasteless objects made in Brazil.

The best investment is an amethyst of average size weighing between 4 and 8 carats, as dark as possible, but not so much so that the light is prevented from reflecting, and with a deep lustre.

Alexandrite

Its natural colour ranges from dark to pale green, but in the light may appear anything from red to yellow, to orange, to mauve even, depending on how the rays strike it.

It is a very attractive stone, but rare and therefore very costly, and only the top quality is worth buying. It is, however, an excellent investment because it is much prized by jewelers and collectors.

Pure alexandrite is always faceted, or cut en cabochon if flaws are present (in this case be careful not to confuse it with other "chameleon" chrysoberyls or labradorite). Its value is on a par with the four precious stones and when well set is a match for even the finest diamond.

Alabaster

sulphate of lime or gypsum of a white or delicately tinted colour. It is one of the softest minerals known to nature and is therefore used as an ornamental stone in sculpture, though only for internal work as it weathers easily. It is especially popular in Italy, its country of origin (Volterra, Tuscany).

It is very porous and easy to colour, but too fragile to be a worth- while investment.

Identifying Gem Stones – Step 6:

Color:

While this may seem the first test to use when classifying a gem stone, using color to identify a stone is not as reliable as you might think.

Most people view the sapphire as blue, but this cousin to the ruby can be found in various shades including pink, green, yellow and almost transparent. The classic diamond, with its colorless crystal, looks so much like the less rare cubic zirconium or cubic zirconia, that they almost indistinguishable without a close examination.

Identifying Gem Stones – Step 7:

Chemical and Physical tests:

These methods of identification of gems most often used by experts because they usually require special equipments. The tests include:

Specific gravity.

Refractive Index.

Light Dispersion.

Color changes.