Amethyst Engagement Ring Question

by Jackie
(Springfield)


Hello, I am looking to get an amethyst engagement ring made by a company called Le Vian. Is this a good and reliable company to make a purchase with and get a good quality ring?

Is heat treatment a good or bad thing? If the amethyst is natural should it/can it/ is it good that it is heat treated or not?

I have written all of your warnings down to ask questions - the price is just over $1000 for the ring and it is made with 14k strawberry gold and pink sapphires, with the amethyst as the center piece in princess cut.

Thanks! Jackie


Hi Jackie,

What a beautiful ring! To answer your questions:

Le Vian® is a designer jewelry company that was established in 1950 by Mr. A. Le Vian. The company has an excellent reputation and warranties all jewelry pieces, but it is still a good idea to purchase your ring from a retailer who offers at least a 30 day return policy.

My only beef with this company is that they offer no information on eco-friendly metal and gemstone ethics, so I would be concerned as to the environmental and ethical cost of the ring.



Amethysts are occasionally heat treated to improve the purple tones of the ring, but it’s not a common practice because heating an amethyst will actually lighten the purple hues. So, heat treatments are usually performed on very dark amethysts which would look better if they were lightened a few shades or on amethysts which may have inconsistent dark and light colors within the gem – heating the gem makes the colors more consistent.

Amethysts which have been heat treated should not be steam cleaned – otherwise they require no more special care than untreated amethysts. As the heat treatment does not affect the value of this gemstone, or the stability of the stone’s color, it’s largely a matter of opinion as to whether or not it is good to heat treat a natural amethyst.

I looked up the ring in the photo you submitted, and while the clarity ratings for the surrounding diamonds on the ring are provided I did not see any info about the clarity of the amethyst.

Because clarity if one of the most important characteristics which help to determine the value of amethyst (second only to color and closely followed by cut) I would ask about the clarity of the gem.

I also noticed that the diamonds surrounding the gemstone, while small, did not have very good clarity values. The clarity values of the diamonds are S1 - S2 on the GIA Clarity Grade Scale, which means they are slightly included. Slightly included diamonds can have stability issues and the inclusions can sometimes be visible.

The color values on the diamonds are listed as HI – which I assume is H-I on the GIA Color Grade Scale - which are near colorless diamonds. These values are on the lower acceptable scale for colorless diamonds. When diamonds approach past the I point into J, K and beyond a slight color tint is noticeable. (If you would like more info about diamond grading and diamond grades check out our Diamond Clarity, Cut and Color Charts page).

The diamonds are very small though – and backed by the strawberry gold - so the values may not be much of an issue on the overall look of the ring (but the diamonds probably will not contribute much to the value of the ring). The listing also mentions the diamonds are either equal to or above the values listed so it is possible that some of the diamonds may have better values. (But I also noticed another ring in a photo which looked similar to the one you submitted and the diamond grades on that ring were listed as clarity S1 - I1 and color HIJ which would mean the diamonds could have visible inclusions and a slight color tint).

Personally, I feel that the ring may be somewhat overpriced – BUT it is a designer ring (and quite lovely as well) and as with all things you will pay more for the designer label.

I hope this info is helpful – do write back if you have any other questions or if you would like to update us with a review on your purchase.

Thanks!

Suzanne Gardner
Everything Wedding Rings

Click here to post comments

Click here to return to Amethyst Engagement Ring.