carat. Cut clear blue turquoise costs from $1 to $10 a carat, the
price increasing with size. When cut in large quantities, stones may
be cut for three to five cents a carat.
Garnet is sold in the rough as single stones, and brings a price
rather less than one fifth the price of cut stones. Cut pyropene gar-
nets are worth from 50 cents to $2 a carat, depending on the quality.
Almandine garnets, if resembling the emerald, cost $12 to $15 a
carat. The cost of cutting is $1 to $1.50 per carat.
Peridot is also sold as separate stones. Cut material runs from
$2 to $15 a carat. $5 usually buys a good stone. Cutting costs
from $1 to $1.50 a carat.
Copper bearing stones, excluding high grade malachite, sell for
about $10 a pound. When cut, they are sold by the stone rather
than by carat, and are sold so as to make a profit. No definite price
can be set. They cost from five cents to ten cents a carat for cutting.
Chalcedony, unless of the turtle back variety, is hardly worth $1
per pound. Cut material is barely worth the cost of cutting, which
is 5 to 10 cents a carat. Turtle back variety may bring $5 or more
for a stone.
Amethystine quartz is almost valueless, except as mineral speci-
mentsm unless it holds its color. The cut American material is
hardly worth more than the cost of cutting. But foreign material
may be worth $4 a carat when cut. The cost of cutting is from
50 cents to $1 a carat.
Topaz is bought by the single stone. Fine gem crystals, when
colored, may be worth $50 to $100. Cut material, in dark blue
shades, brings $10 to $25 a carat; the fine golden yellow brings $4 a
carat; diamond cut white stones bring $1 to $2 a carat. The cost
cutting is about $1 a carat.
ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS
With the exception of a very few valuable and highly prized stones,
the production of gems is almost always more or less spasmodic.
The cause of this is usually over production during a period of de-
mand. This over production is often purposeful as an example,
the tourmaline mines of San Diego County, California, produce a
large supply, which provides for the market demands for a time,
and when this supply runs low, the mines are again operated until
the stock is replenished.
In figuring upon a deposit of gems or precious stones, usual pre-
cautions must be taken. The product must, of course, be of good
quality. The demand for the material should be known and a
