Hi all,
Does anyone have any idea what would be a fair price per gram to pay
for high grade (Afghanistan) lapis rough? High grade as in deep blue,
some pyrite, no calcite, really quality stuff.
Thankful for any insights anyone can share, Carol
I recently bought 3 ounces of such stuff for $90.00, which I think
works out to $1.07 a gram. I also saw some dealers asking a little
bit more for it than that.
I don’t think any is coming out right now but the best “Fire and Ice”
blue, clean material is selling for about $60 per carat cut. Hans
Dieter Haag in Germany may be able to direct you to some old rough.
Ther is one old supplier in Idar- Oberstein, if he is still around,
may be willing to sell some of his fine rough.
Hi Carol two years ago I bought some very good lapis rough at Tucson
for 25$ a pound I am still cutting it and it’s all still good
Tom
Hi Carol,
I’ve been seeing high grade Afghani lapis lately for anywhere from
$250 to 400/kilo. Not a lot, but some. Expect to pay considerably
more for small amounts, and even more if you are “picking”.
Wayne
Hi Carol,
The classical Afghani lapis is so variable as to quality that I
would not approach valuation unless I had a lot of confidence in what
I might get for it. Ergo, why not approach the decision from the
standpoint of projecting what you might get for it upon resale.
Oddly enough, that which has sprinklings of pyrite is sometimes
considered defective in some European venues. Personally, my choice
is with the electric blue that has pyrite. This is material that I
would value by the carat…there is damned little of it! Any way
you look at it, the stuff has to be carried out of it’s 14,000’ perch
on a jack ass and then only when the snow has melted…just being
able to get the stuff is worth a lot !
Ron Mills at Mills Gem Co. Los Osos, Ca.