Buying Ametrine Rough

(via Lapidary Journal) Lawrence Stoller writes:

The truth be told, I felt a little gluttonous as I held stone after stone to the sunlight, looking for the sharp, contrasting colors of purple and yellow, for I lusted after almost every piece I saw. I use two different selection criteria when I am examining rough material for cutting. The first is what I call the logical criteria. With ametrine, I first look for how clean the stone is internally. Is it filled with veils and cracks, or are there large areas of brilliant flawless material? Second, I look for color. Are the two colors present or it is primarily one color? Is there a distinct color line between the purple and yellow, or do the two colors blend to create yet another unnamed blue?

As one side of my brain makes these intellectual assessments, the other side gives an instant, emotional response. Either I got a resounding Yes!, a No, or an I don’t know. I have learned to go with the yes, even if it is in contrast to the logical criteria response, because sometimes there is a surprise that I might not have seen with my eye, but I knew intuitively was there, waiting to be discovered.

I feel a responsibility for every stone I procure. As a cutter, I know that when acquiring a stone, I am initiating a relationship, a romance so to speak. Thus, as in any relationship there needs to be a spark of attraction, a desire for involvement, and a commitment to spend the time and creative energy to see the transformation of the stone through, from its rough state to its finest finished form. I have found that when examining a piece of rough I need to have an imagination for the finished form, a feeling of desire to achieve it, and a real expectation that it will turn out beautifully before I spend either money or time on a piece. And I find that ametrine can appear brilliantly happy if one knows how to treat it right.