http://www.rocksandcreations.com/graphics/hearts/amethyst.jpg
November 29, 2008
Amethyst from Las Vigas
Quartz (silicon dioxide) is the most common mineral species in the earth’s crust. Despite the worldwide abundance of quartz, mineral collectors - from beginning collectors to the most advanced mineral connoisseurs - are drawn to collecting quartz specimens because of their propensity to occur as spectacularly beautiful, razor-sharp crystals and crystal clusters in a wide range of colors (colorless, yellow, brown, black, pink, purple and when included with other mineral species quartz can be obtained in nearly every conceivable hue). Important, worldwide quartz specimen producing localities are too numerous to mention here … for example MINDAT lists in excess of 19,000 locality occurrences for QUARTZ. However, in terms of the aesthetic appeal of the specimens produced, the amethyst occurrences on Cerro Piedra Parada (Las Vigas) can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any of the world’s other premier quartz producing localities.
The specimens from this recent discovery exhibit an exceptional violet hue, which colors not only the crystal terminations, but, also fills the major part of the crystal prisms. The bases of the prisms are typically colorless to milky-white. Some of the individual amethyst crystals exhibit slight “scepter-termination” development. Impressive matrix specimens featuring single, isolated amethyst crystals as well as divergent clusters of crystals are available. Some of the matrix specimens feature beautiful, elongated prismatic amethyst crystals growing from a grayish andesite rock matrix which is partially covered with a carpet of tiny olive-green to yellow-green epidote crystals. Other matrix specimens feature a thin layer of intergrown milky quartz crystals directly upon which have grown the larger, prismatic amethyst crystals. Specimens currently available range in size from thumbnail to cabinet-size pieces.
