[Jewelry making - Article 00110] - [Orchid] Red amethyst?

[Harriet Kelsall]

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Hi there

    One of my favorite customers came to see me recently. She owns some
    completely amazing pieces of jewellery - she is a great collector of
    antiques from around the world and often gets me to alter, reset, etc
    for her as well as make her some new pieces. She knows a lot about
    gemstones and owns some huge chunks of beautiful precious and
    semi-precious stones. 

    Anyway - she came to me the other day with a new purchase. It was a
    ring in an unusual and I think Russian style (clearly simply cast
    from a master into a rich yellow alloy (I would guess 18ct or 20ct
    gold) - yellow gold but showing age and wear in line with a ring
    around about 50-100 years old at a guess. It is in a clearly Russian
    style. The ring holds a huge stone (about 20mm across and very
    highly facetted - very well cut actually). I thought at first it was
    a spinel perhaps or even a deep pink tourmaline - but it didn't look
    quite right for either of those - more of an amethyst purple with a
    sort of 'shot' of pinky/red through it. It is clearly a real stone
    which unfortunately has a tiny chip on the surface but it is only
    very shallow. Anyway - she thinks it might be a red amethyst. It is
    purple with a hint of hot-pink at some angles and clearly pink with
    red flashes at other angles - it is quite a sensational stone. 

    Does anybody know anything about red amethyst whether this could be
    a possibility? I think I must get it tested for her because I am
    concerned that it could be quite a valuable stone and want to check
    that she has it properly insured. 

    Any tips would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you in advance for any help!
Harriet(UK)
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