Moldavite Valuation Guide: 15 Factors You Need to Know
What really determines the price of a moldavite? Weight, shape, location, damage, and rare characteristics all have different impacts. Here are the 15 factors explained, with an impact table.
01How Factors Influence Price
Numerous elements determine a moldavite's valuation. The greatest impact comes from the rarity of certain locations, characteristics, and sizes. For simplicity, we use symbols below to indicate the potential effect on price. If some terms are unclear to you, please consult the terminology guide.
Symbol Legend
- – % negative impact · 0% no impact · +% positive impact
- More symbols indicate a greater weight of the factor: from – – % (medium negative) up to + + + (+ +) % (high or very high positive)
What about moldavite grades?
"Grade" terms are often subjective and based on personal preferences. For this reason, it's more useful to think in terms of rarity factors. You can learn more in the moldavite grades guide.
02Factor Table and Price Impact
Scroll the table horizontally to see the impact of each factor based on the stone's weight.
| Factor | 1-10g | 10-20g | 20-30g | 30-40g | 40-50g | 50-60g | 60-70g | 70-80+g |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 0% | 0% | +% | ++% | +++% | ++++% | +++++% | ++++++% |
| Fragment Shape | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Primary Shape (e.g., drop, disk) | 0 / +% | 0 / +% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% |
| Hourglass Shape (rarest) | ++% | ++% | +++% | +++% | +++% | +++% | +++% | +++% |
| Unique Shape (e.g., animal, heart) | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% |
| Common Locality (e.g., Chlum) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Rare Locality (e.g., Besednice, Nesmen) | + / +++% | + / +++% | + / +++% | + / +++% | + / +++% | + / +++% | + / +++% | + / +++% |
| Chips / Abrasions | – % | – % | – % | – % | – % | – % | – % | – % |
| Broken | – – % | – – % | – – % | – – % | – – % | – – % | – – % | – – % |
| Angel Chime | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% | +% |
| Exceptional Sculpture (e.g., Hedgehog) | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% |
| Large Visible Enclosed Bubbles (e.g., >1cm) | +% | +% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% |
| Regular Color (e.g., bottle green) | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Unusual and Rare Color (e.g., snowflake) | +% | +% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% |
| Bi-color | +% | +% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% | + / ++% |
03Practical Valuation Examples
Let's take a 15-gram piece and see how the price changes with varying characteristics:
- Typical piece: fragment from a common locality (Chlum), regular color → normal market rate.
- Damaged piece: as above but with visible chips → slight discount.
- Primary shape: beautiful drop, common locality, regular color → premium price.
- Rare primary shape: perfect hourglass, common locality → significant premium.
- Rare locality: fragment from Besednice in perfect condition → significant premium.
- Rare locality + primary shape: beautiful drop from Besednice, perfect → enormous premium.
Did you know that at least 98% of moldavite on the market falls into the first two categories — typical pieces or slightly damaged from extraction? Rare combinations are what truly drive up the price.
Continue the guide
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