Gem Rough Evaluation

For years, we've received requests by phone, mail and email from gem and mineral collectors, recent international travelers and jewelers who'd like their latest rock and mineral finds or purchases evaluated for their usability as gem materials. More often than not, these folks not only want us to determine whether their stones warrant faceting or cabbing in the first place but, also, how they should be oriented for best color and clarity and what the likely finished sizes, shapes, weights (or 'yields') and values are likely to be.

Answering these questions as honestly and comprehensively as possible requires much more than just a casual glance at the stone(s) in question. In order to do this properly, we must carefully examine each piece under different light sources, lighting conditions, magnifications and/or refractive index ('R.I.') liquids, then accurately measure dimensions and angles, then consider specific gemstone-cut geometries and estimate loss percentages and, when necessary, cut and polish small windows into the material's outer surface, to gain better understandings of the type and placement of material's inclusions. Because this requires the commitment of so much time and energy, we've settled upon the following rate schedule as the fairest way of both honoring your requests and compensating ourselves for the time, energy and resources necessary. (Please note that the "Basic Setup Fee" is charged on a per-order basis, not per-stone. In other words, whether you send us one stone or a hundred, the setup fee remains the same.)

Basic Setup Fee for Gem Rough Evaluation: $45.00,
plus per-stone labor charges of:

1-5 pieces: $6.00/piece;

6-15 pieces: $5.00/piece;

16-25 pieces: $4.00/piece;

More than 26 pieces: $3.50/piece.

Terms: All prices shown are in U.S. Dollars, and are effective as of January 1st, 2004. Payment is due upon completion of evaluation, unless further lapidary work is requested. All pieces you do not ask us to cut will be returned in the condition in which they were received, except in those cases in which some grinding and polishing is necessary to remove a portion of the outer layer of the mineral, its matrix or other mineralization in order to view the stone's interior. Because of the inherently unstable nature of their crystal structures and inclusions, we cannot guarantee the long term stabilities of materials such as Opal, Spodumene and Epidote, or the Emerald, Morganite or Bixbite forms of Beryl. In these minerals, certain instabilities and/or changes in color, clarity or structural stability are to be expected, and all work is done at your risk. Please refer to Customer Service page for terms and payment options.)