"Rose de France"

Jewelry Discussion
1

Your guess was correct, Lisa. Rose de France is an attractive name
for amethyst of insipid color. A marketing ploy of the same stripe as
calling inferior grade lapis “denim” or naming brown diamonds after
fine liquor (champagne and cognac…)

2

For those of you who are uninformed,“Rose de France” amethyst has
been a discriptive name for faint color amethyst for at least the last
30 years among the lapidary community,the name was never used as a
marketing ploy.

3

Are you sure? I’ve been told that Rose de France is the Morganite
which is Beryl. Vicky

4

I have heard of light colored Amethyst refered to as ‘Rose de France’.
And that’s all it is light colored amethyst.

Lorri

5

Dear Appealsman, Not all brown diamonds are inferior to white in
apprearance. There are lovely champagne and cognac colored diamonds
that are far more interesting than the ordinary white variety. Cheers
to those who appreciate and collect colored diamonds.

Etienne Perret
Designing Colored Diamond Jewels
< www.etienneperret.com >
20 Main St
Camden, Maine
USA 04843
tel.+207.236.9696
fax.+207.236.9698

6

vicky - no, morganite & rose de france amethyst have different
properties: hardness for beryl is 7 1/2 - 8, specific gravity is
about 2 1/2 to 3; hardness for rose de france amethyst is 7 &
specific gravity is about 2 1/2. plus, amethyst is terminated
(pointed) in crystal formation while beryl is not. hope this clears
up a little - ive jeweler & rock seller -

7

Perhaps the cable shows will redefine the public’s sense of
aesthetics to the point that we all have to cut our gems with windows
to please our customers? :slight_smile: Rose de France Amethyst can be a
beautiful stone when cut properly. Most of what is being marketed as
"Rose de France" is actually too dark to fit the proper definition of
that variety…and much too light to be considered good Amethyst.
Good “Rose de France” shouldn’t have any visible colour zoning.

These opinions are entirely my own…and they’re just that -
opinions. I -like- genuine Rose de France Amethyst…but I don’t
see it very often - especially on TV. -Pete-

8

Hi,

I have some Rose-de-France amethyst and to my eye it is not only a
pale color of amethyst but it is not uniform in its balance of
color. To my ceramists eye, amethyst is made up of blue and
pink/red. Just as some amethyst is blue-purple being somewhat over
abundant in blue or said in another way lacking in pink/red hue,
Rose-de-France amethyst is the converse- over abundant in pink/red
hue. The chroma is not intense so the “rose” hue is dominant. If
the chroma were intense or saturated, I suspect, it would display the
’red flash’ of African or Uruguayan amethyst.

Regards,
Skip

Skip Meister
@Skip_Meister
Orchid Jewelry Listserve Member
N.R.A. Endowment
"No man’s life, liberty or fortune is safe…while our legislature is in session."
Benjamin Franklin

9

Lisa, I have seen amethyst crystals that have come out of Vera Cruz
,Mehico that are how you say primo.Very pale in color but when cut
they reflect light in a distinct way because of the location from
whence they come or came.I had a cutter cut the stone in a design that
reflected the light better than a basic cut.I have some African
amethyst that is deep in color but has a slight hint of red hue in a
large trillion.I have seen Siberian amethyst that is as deep and dark
a shade of purple as the soul of Russia.Stunning.I like stones that
when I look at them and I imagine them in a piece of jewelry, it works
be they light or dark,beach glass or dinosaur bone cheap or
pricey.After all there’s more to a package than the wrapping. That is
how I feel when I get to do my own work which is not as often as I
would like since Iam locked into the repair realm.A dimension Einstein
did not know about. Best

J Morley

10

Etienne,

I have to agree with you. Not only are quality coloured diamonds
more beautiful than white diamonds, they are also far less common!
Some day (and that day will come soon) the market will wake up to the
fact that white diamonds are among the most common gemstones on the
planet. (This will be the same day that the brilliant DeBeers
publicists finally get a better offer from either the American
tobacco industry or the Clinton administration.)

I seem to be having a day when I can’t help but say what I really
think. Scary. Perhaps I should go read a novel or cut fire agate
until the mood passes… Naaaah!

With a large grain of salt (yet knowing that what I’ve said is closer
to the truth than anyone who owns a mall jewelry store wants to
admit),

Peter

11

Peter, At the recently closed The Nature of Diamonds exhibit at The
San Diego Natural History Museum, the most impressive exhibit in my
eyes was the Aurora Collection of 260 naturally colored diamonds.

The color range was fantastic.

You will get no argument from me. Teresa

12

Well, the Australians, after their (relatively) recent discovery of
their lode of really good colored diamonds, have certainly been
successful in their campaign to convince people that, contrary to what
the DeBeers people (who have few of them to offer) say, colored
diamonds are better! They’re apparently selling like hot cakes, and at
premium prices.

Kinda puts DeBeers in a bit of a bind, doesn’t it?

Cheers
margaret
@Margaret_Malm

13

Not very complementary to Rose but unfortunaltely true! . . .
However, I would prefer to think of it as a stone of color unto
itself . . . is is a ‘light pink in color leaning toward the red side
. . not purple or blue . . maked a great pendant when cut to stones of
90 and up size for ladies who want to ware big jewelry with their big
hair (say Texas). I have done 2 such pendants… At that size, they
must be named!!! … one was called, appropiately, ‘’‘big’en’’’ while
the second, as requested by big’en’s owners friend, was called, ‘’’'
bigger than big’en!!!

There’s money in Rose . . . from the middle class, middle aged
ladies!!!

Jim