Spectrum Scientifics Blog

Probably one of the most affordable and beautiful minerals available on Earth is amethyst. Amethyst is a form of quartz, which is the most abundant mineral on earth. While only a portion of all quartz in Amethyst it does mean that it is too common to be considered even a semi-precious stone. But that does not detract from its beauty.

Amethyst, according to the latest studies, gets its violet color from Iron and Aluminum impurities that get into the lattice structure of the quartz. It is not certain if more impurities mean deeper violet colors, but what is certain is that Amethyst has many different shades of violet, the deepest violet colors coming from Uruguay, followed closely by Brazil.

Amethyst, unlike many mineral specimens, does require some care to keep its color. Amethyst should not be displayed in the sun, or else they will lose their color and turn into smoky quartz. Heat will also have the same effect. So remember not to display any Amethyst clusters or cathedrals (large, cave-like clusters) in your garden or window unless they are almost constantly in the shade.

A close relative of Amethyst is Citrine

Citrine has a golden brown color and was once amethyst before it was exposed to natural or artificial heat. Amethyst resembles Topaz and in fact may not be distinguishable from that mineral. Citrine is slightly more rare than Amethyst due to either the limited number of natural heat sources near quartz or the need to heat amethyst after mining.

In the future, we will discuss other types of quartz on this blog.

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Filed under: Geology