Location: Uruguay

Size: 2.88 x 2.21 x 1 inches

February’s Birthstone

A very nice specimen of Amethyst from Uruguay. Most pieces of Uruguayan amethyst are darker than the pieces from Brazil. They also tend to be less common and have smaller crystals. This piece has been polished on the sides as well as bottom to show the nice banding formation.

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz and is the most popular purple gem and is also February’s Birthstone. Amethyst has been used for gemstones for thousands of years. Amethyst crystals do not get very large, crystals longer than 30cm are very rare with most being stubby or even occurring in veins. When heated to extremely high temperatures, amethyst will lose its violet color and often turns yellow, orange or brown, and then resembles and therefore sold as citrine (most citrine sold on the market is heat treated amethyst. UV light will also destroy the color center of the stone, and due to this prolonged exposure to sunlight will slowly fade amethyst.