Are they glass or ?

Hello all! Is there any easy way to tell glass from amethyst? I am tidying
up an old rosary (a very lovely vintage one that the owner of a little
rosary shop had tossed into the freebie bin because it was rather tarnished
and tangled...turns out it's a very fine one in great shape).

The beads are faceted and about 5mm or so. I'm too tired and lazy to
measure at the moment. But I can't tell if they are amethyst or glass.
They are such a lovely shade...a very soft, rich shade.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Paula

take them to a jewler and ask to use their loupe? Ask them to tell you?
Diana

--
http://photos.yahoo.com/lunamom44
"PaulaGarlic" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hello all! Is there any easy way to tell glass from amethyst? I am
tidying
up an old rosary (a very lovely vintage one that the owner of a little
rosary shop had tossed into the freebie bin because it was rather
tarnished
and tangled...turns out it's a very fine one in great shape).

The beads are faceted and about 5mm or so. I'm too tired and lazy to
measure at the moment. But I can't tell if they are amethyst or glass.
They are such a lovely shade...a very soft, rich shade.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Paula

We had a discussion about etching stones here recently. If I recall
correctly, the etching medium damages the crystaline structure of quartz
(which amythest is a form of).

Tina


"PaulaGarlic" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hello all! Is there any easy way to tell glass from amethyst? I am
tidying
up an old rosary (a very lovely vintage one that the owner of a little
rosary shop had tossed into the freebie bin because it was rather
tarnished
and tangled...turns out it's a very fine one in great shape).

The beads are faceted and about 5mm or so. I'm too tired and lazy to
measure at the moment. But I can't tell if they are amethyst or glass.
They are such a lovely shade...a very soft, rich shade.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Paula

I'd get out my loupe and have a look for inclusions in the stones, that's a
pretty good give away. All except the most perfect of stones have tiny
defects, colour variations and bits and pieces in them. Also compare each
stone, is the cut slightly irregular from stone to stone? That could mean
they are hand cut, although if done my a master cutter, they could be very
consistant so that's not always a guide.

--
Marisa (AU)
ESBC
www.galleryvittoria.com

The great state of Missouri actually has some useful information about this
on one of their Web sites: "You can use a simple field test to separate
real amethyst quartz from glass fakes. Lightly rest the unidentified item on
your cheek: quartz has high thermal conductivity and will feel cool to the
touch; glass, on the other hand, should feel warm." I would add that "warm"
is a relative term. Either amethyst or glass would feel much, much cooler
than plastic, for example.
- Steve R
St Louis

"PaulaGarlic" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hello all! Is there any easy way to tell glass from amethyst? I am
tidying
up an old rosary (a very lovely vintage one that the owner of a little
rosary shop had tossed into the freebie bin because it was rather
tarnished
and tangled...turns out it's a very fine one in great shape).

The beads are faceted and about 5mm or so. I'm too tired and lazy to
measure at the moment. But I can't tell if they are amethyst or glass.
They are such a lovely shade...a very soft, rich shade.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Paula

In article ,
says...

The great state of Missouri actually has some useful information about this
on one of their Web sites: "You can use a simple field test to separate
real amethyst quartz from glass fakes. Lightly rest the unidentified item on
your cheek: quartz has high thermal conductivity and will feel cool to the
touch; glass, on the other hand, should feel warm." I would add that "warm"
is a relative term. Either amethyst or glass would feel much, much cooler
than plastic, for example.

So the key here would be to compare your rosary beads to a *known* piece with
either glass or amethyst beads -- preferably both, if you can find them.

Celine

--
Handmade jewelry at http://www.rubylane.com/shops/starcat
"Only the powers of evil claim that doing good is boring."
-- Diane Duane, _Nightfall at Algemron_

Most glass beads seem to have a very consistent color throughout, whereas
amethyst will have variations in tone. Also the color of amethyst seems
"softer", a little more translucent, than glass. Of course, you'd pretty
much need a sample of both to understand what I mean!
--
Karleen Page/Vibrant Jewels
http://www.vibrantjewels.com/jewelry/welcome.htm
JustBead Auctions
http://www.justbeads.com/search/ql.cfm?s=21770
PayPal Merchant Account
https://www.paypal.com/mrb/pal=7XJ98L86Z7S2C
"PaulaGarlic" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hello all! Is there any easy way to tell glass from amethyst? I am
tidying
up an old rosary (a very lovely vintage one that the owner of a little
rosary shop had tossed into the freebie bin because it was rather
tarnished
and tangled...turns out it's a very fine one in great shape).

The beads are faceted and about 5mm or so. I'm too tired and lazy to
measure at the moment. But I can't tell if they are amethyst or glass.
They are such a lovely shade...a very soft, rich shade.

Any tips?

Thanks!

Paula