How to tell how much a crystal is worth?
Crystal value in a nutshell:
The combination of rarity, size, form, attractiveness, history, chemical composition, and other criteria determines the value of a crystal. Many of those criteria are subjective and are often based on personal taste and preference. However, there is a number of more objective indicators:
Determining the value of a crystal involves several factors:
Rarity of a crystal:
Crystals that are rare or hard to find are priced higher due to limited supply and high demand. (The criteria "Type of Crystal" is only a synonym term for rarity)
We have developed a five-star rating system, which helps you assess the rarity of a specimen and is applied to our product pages to help you understand pricing.
common (*) = These specimens can still set themselves apart from other common specimens due to a higher than usual rating in the criteria “Level of Damage” or “Aesthetic Value”
frequent (**) = These specimens can still set themselves apart from other common specimens due to a higher than usual rating in the criteria “Level of Damage” or “Aesthetic Value”
rare (***) = A specimen from a location that produces only a small number of specimens per year. Or a crystal shape that is produced only occasionally in a location. In Pyrite, for example, cuboid crystals are the norm for Huanzala Mine, while well-shaped pyritohedron or octahedron crystals appear rather rarely.
very rare (****) = A specimen that stands out from the group of rare specimens due to an even lower number of possible similar finds.
extremely rare (*****) = A unique specimen. It’s unlikely for another similar specimen to be found ever again. Or a specimen where only a few similar specimens exist globally, and it is unlikely that there will be more. Or a specimen from a location that is unlikely to produce more, ever. Or a specimen with a unique form of cluster growth
Location or provenance of a crystal:
This criterion is related to "Rarity". A crystal from a new location or a location where the crystals rarely appear is more valuable for collectors than a crystal from a location that produces lots of those crystals.
Crystal Size:
A criterion referring to the size of the individual crystals on a cluster. Generally speaking, the larger the crystals on a cluster, the more valuable the specimen. Keep in mind that nature needs much more time to grow a large crystal, which makes big crystals always rarer.
Crystal size is the main criterion for value appraisal in Peruvian Pyrite (both in bulk and collectors’ crystals). Pyrite dealers and wholesalers have developed a six-level value system widely used in wholesale but not published or explained to the wider public:
Quinoa = The crystals on the cluster are just about 1 mm in size (like the seeds of the Peruvian quinoa plant or sand grains). Pyrite with such small crystals is considered the lowest and cheapest crystal quality. By no means would it ever be considered a collector’s level crystal, and even carved products (hearts, pyramids, etc) made from quinoa are considered low-grade quality. It is mostly bought by Chinese and Indian dealers attending a global mass market.
Chispa (= spark) = The crystals on the cluster are between 1 mm and 3 mm in size. Chispa is the preferred material for carved products. It is not considered collector’s grade material.
Probably 90 percent of the Pyrite produced by nature in the Huanzala Mine has to be considered Quinoa or Chispa quality.
Chispa resaltada (= top-spark) = The crystals on the cluster are between 3 mm and 5 mm in size. For carved products, top-spark is considered an expensive premium raw material, producing spectacular carvings. If the crystals show no damage, have a spectacular luster, and/or the cluster has an aesthetic shape, top-spark specimens MAY BE considered collectors’ grade.
Cocada = Crystals on the cluster vary in size from 6 mm to 1 cm. This would be the baseline size for collectors’ grade specimens (provided the cluster and the crystals do not show a lot of man-made damage). It is very rare to find carved products made from cocada material, as most wholesalers do not want to spend the money required for cocada-grade cutting material. Therefore, nice pieces carved from cocada (or higher grade material) pyrite will often fetch much higher prices than cocada collectors´ crystals.
Top-Cocada = Crystals on the cluster vary in size from 1 cm to 1.5 cm. It´s nearly impossible to find carved crystal products made from this material. For collectors, the level of man-made damage becomes the main criterion to decide if a coco pyrite is low-grade bulk material or collectors-grade material. Probably 90 percent of the coco material is too damaged for collectors and is considered bulk. You will find those pieces being sold as specimens (not as carved products) but mainly by Indian and Chinese dealers and they would sell mainly in Europe, Australia or the USA/Canada, not in India itself.
Coco = Any specimen with crystals bigger than 1.5 cm. It´s nearly impossible to find carved crystal products made from this material. For collectors, the level of man-made damage becomes the main criterion to decide if a coco pyrite is low-grade bulk material or collectors-grade material. Probably 90 percent of the coco material is too damaged for collectors and is considered bulk. You will find those pieces being sold as specimens (not as carved products) but mainly by Indian and Chinese dealers and they would sell mainly in Europe, Australia or the USA/Canada, not in India itself.
Taking into consideration all this, it becomes clear that collectors’ grade pyrite specimens most likely make up for less than a tenth of 1 percent of the material extracted from Huanzala Mine.
Crystal Quality:
The quality of the crystal plays a significant role. There are several sub-criteria, like:
Crystal definition: If the single crystals are well-developed, they are more valuable.
Coloration: Vibrant, evenly distributed colors are valued more, with rare hues such as vivid green or deep violet carrying the highest premiums.
Luster: Crystals of the same type do vary in luster due to minor changes in chemical composition. Specimens with a better luster are valued more.
Clarity: In transparent crystals, clarity is an important criterion. Clearer crystals with minimal inclusions fetch higher prices. For instance, flawless quartz commands a premium over cloudy specimens.
Aesthetic Value:
Unusual crystal and cluster shapes are more valuable.
Two-dimensional crystal clusters: The most common and least valuable shape of a cluster. A flat face on a rock that has length and height (but no three-dimensional shape)
Three-dimensional cluster shape: Crystals are formed on several sides of the rock or all around it. It may contain small geodes. Any three-dimensional or odd shape of a crystal cluster may increase the overall aesthetics of the piece and therefore its value.
Aesthetic placement of crystals on the cluster: When appraising the beauty of a crystal cluster, we do instinctively apply rules of aesthetics, like in art, photography, architecture, and design. If, for example, a bigger outstanding crystal is placed in a position in the center of a cluster, it is most likely less beautiful than when it’s placed a little bit to the side or up or down, aligning with a one-third to two-thirds position (golden cut). Such aesthetic shapes and placements increase the value of a specimen
Floater crystals: A floater is a crystal that formed unattached to a matrix or host rock. Because they grow without an attachment point, usually all sides of the floater crystals are undamaged.
Unusual shapes due to crystal replacement: Sometimes a mineral replaces another mineral and grows in the crystal shape of the former mineral. You can recognize such rare specimens when you find the Word "after" in the crystal description. For example, “Quartz after Barite” would signal that quartz replaced the previously grown Barite crystals, leading to a Quartz crystal in the shape of Barite.
Floater clusters: This is not an existing term, but a criterion for value, which is why we introduce this term and criterion into our list: a cluster of crystals that does not show an attachment point or a very small attachment point to the surrounding rock matrix.
Stalactite clusters: A cluster of crystals that has a stalactite-like shape
Aesthetic Value is a very subjective criterion. When we talk about aesthetics, we do that based on what we see and know as global pyrite wholesalers with thousands of pyrite crystals from bulk material to collectors’ grade material passing through our hands every month. For us, collectors’ grade material makes up maybe 1 percent of all the pyrite we sell. And within the collectors’ level, “extraordinarily beautiful” pieces are unique events, never again to appear this way.
We have developed a four-star rating system, which reflects our personal opinion about the aesthetic value of a crystal. This may or may not coincide with your personal taste. It provides you, however, with a better understanding of why we price our crystals the way we do.
Nice (*) = For us, these specimens still have aesthetic value, even though they may show a higher level of man-made damage.
Beautiful (**) = It is very rare for us to offer “nice” specimens to our fine mineral clients. Being beautiful is the minimum requirement for a crystal to make it on this website.
Very beautiful (***) = Specimens that stand out from the crowd of beautiful specimens, do to unusual shapes combined with high luster and very little man-made damage.
Extraordinarily beautiful (****) = No explanation required. The one-in-a-million pieces we would rather like to keep for ourselves if we were not fine mineral dealers. The price is the only thing that motivates us to give them away.
Clusters with crystal combinations:
Often, several types of minerals aggregate into clusters, overgrowing each other. Such crystal combinations are often more valuable because of the rarity of such combinations and the aesthetic improvement of a piece due to a variation of shapes and colors.
The story behind it:
As with all collectables, mineral specimens that have an interesting backstory tend to be more valuable. Who wouldn’t be fascinated to know their mineral specimen was found a hundred years ago, in an adventurous way, in a faraway land, by a famous mineral collector?
Damage:
We need to distinguish man-made damage from natural damage.
Man-made damage due to crystal mining and unprofessional transport (broken crystals on a cluster, damaged crystal corners, …) always reduces the value of crystals.
Let’s take pyrite as an example: Pyrite from Peru is mined with dynamite. It is obvious that man-made damage is frequent. Therefore, more than 90 percent of specimens with collectors-grade crystal size (= top spark, cocada to coco - see above) have too much damage to be considered collectors-grade by Peruvian wholesalers and international fine mineral dealers. Those crystals will be sold as cocada or coco “bulk” crystals in great quantities (by the tons and containers) to mostly Indian and Chinese wholesalers, who only want to pay the lowest price possible and don’t care about quality.
Sadly, those dealers then flood the global crystal market in Europe, Australia, the USA, and Canada, selling their unworthy bulk material as supposed Triple-A collectors’ specimens on the internet and at gem shows at low prices, but still with huge profit margins, to an uninformed general public. Reading this, you may ask, why companies like ours sell those bulk pyrites to those Indian and Chinese wholesalers if we know the problems this will cause, confusing the final clients about the value of things?
The Answer is, in order to get access to the real rare collector specimens, we have to buy huge quantities of crystals from the mines. We then sort out the tiny percentage of undamaged, beautiful specimens. And the rest of the material has to be sold to somebody to recover the investment. So, there is no choice for us here. The only way we can help you avoid falling for the untrue marketing of those mass-product wholesalers is education, like on this blog.
We have developed a four-star rating system, which reflects our personal opinion about the aesthetic value of a crystal. This may or may not coincide with your personal taste. It provides you, however, with a better understanding of why we price our crystals the way we do.
Damaged (*) = This crystal should not be on our website. However, it might be rare enough or have a special aesthetic feature that makes us still consider it, at least for clients who would like to have something more beautiful than the usual gem-show standard but don’t have the financial resources for a top-quality fine mineral.
Little damage (**) = Shows some damaged crystal corners or some break-off crystals, but very little in comparison to heavily damaged bulk crystals. It’s an “OK” crystal for a medium-level crystal collector.
Nearly no damage (***) = the nearly perfect specimens. A crystal for an upper-level crystal collector that has the resources to look for crystals that stand out of the crowd, but sadly not enough for the top-fine mineral collectors, who look for the one-in-a-million specimens.
No damage (****) = No explanation required. The perfect one-in-a-million pieces. If combined with extreme rarity AND/OR extraordinary aesthetic value, you have one of the crystals worth being considered for financial investment. Those pieces are the only real natural works of art from Mother Nature. Any price is justified for one of those crystals. Those crystals will always be of value and increase their value over time. These are the ones that can be sold at art auctions. If any crystal dealer promotes to buy anything less than that as an investment object, they are not telling you the truth.
Natural damage does not necessarily reduce the value of a crystal.
For example, Peru is a country rattled frequently by earthquakes. Such events can lead to the cracking of crystals or the breaking off of crystals within the mountains (before extraction). If such natural damage is frequent, then, of course, undamaged crystals should be more valuable.
However, a naturally cracked or broken-off crystal or cluster can still retain a high value when taking into account the geology of the place. In some crystals (like pyrite, for example), new crystals form on break-off surfaces, or the break-off surface becomes very shiny due to a microscopic re-crystallization process starting. Or such surfaces are overgrown by crystals from other minerals. In such cases, crystals should not be considered damaged. In Tentadora Mine crystals, for example, broken quartz points serve as the structural basis for the growth of Chrysocolla crystals. The fact that the underlying quartz point is broken, therefore, does not impact the value of the secondary growth of chrysocolla crystals.
Authenticity:
Ensure the crystal is genuine. Some crystals can be artificially enhanced or imitated, which affects value.
Market Demand and Trends:
The current market demand for specific crystals can affect their value. The Demand is often determined by marketing trends. For example, popularity due to trends in spirituality or wellness can significantly impact prices. Crystals from renowned regions, such as Brazilian amethyst or Madagascar rose quartz, tend to be more valuable. A crystal collector should be careful to avoid using this criterion. Collectors buy crystals for speculation on long-term value increase and value stability. Trends are temporary and unreliable, and a trendy crystal can lose most of its value in an instant if the trend changes or a new, better location appears.