How is ametrine different from amethyst?

Recommended for: stressed people or those who are confused in their own thoughts and actions.

• Excellent for meditation, as it has the ability to speed up the process of entering a state of concentration and helps to enter a deeper state;
• During practice, it should be placed on the area of ​​the required chakra or held in your hand, it is also recommended to carry it with you on a daily basis;
• Like many colored varieties of quartz, ametrine specimens should not be stored in direct sunlight to avoid fading.

Importer: IP Sorokvashin A.A.

This rare semi-precious stone combines the properties of amethyst and citrine, which give it its name. Widely used in the jewelry industry.

What does ametrine look like: colors and varieties

Ametrine is a yellow-violet variety of quartz. Polychrome color is distributed zonally. Colors range from pale to rich. The amethyst component contains lavender, lilac, lilac, purple; in citrine – golden, honey, peach and champagne. In the largest crystals, six shades can be distinguished at once: three purple and the same number of yellow.

The heterogeneous coloration was formed under the influence of a temperature gradient and hydrostatic pressure, which completed the process of stone formation. Under the influence of these phenomena, iron oxide gave a yellow color, and manganese – violet. Some crystals exhibit dichroism—they can change their hue slightly depending on the viewing angle.

The most valuable variety of ametrine is bolivianite. It is named after the country of Bolivia where it was discovered. The mineral is famous for its high transparency, rich color and purity.

Physico-chemical properties of ametrine

It is silicon dioxide (SiO2), part of the group of silicates with a frame structure. In addition to iron and manganese oxides, it may contain small amounts of lithium and aluminum.

The mineral has the following properties:

• Density – 2,67 g/cm³.
• Hardness on the Mohs scale is 7.
• The luster is glassy.
• The fracture is conchoidal.
• The syngony is hexagonal.
• Refraction – 1,55.
• Cleavage is absent.

The largest ametrine ever found weighs just under 109 carats. It is kept in the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles (USA).

Discovery history

Legend says that in the 16th century. Spanish conquistador Felipe de Urriola y Goitia married Anahi, the daughter of an Indian chief from Bolivia. As a dowry, he received a deposit where a two-color mineral was mined. Before leaving for Spain, Anahi was killed by angry tribesmen. Before her death, the girl gave Felipe a beautiful ametrine and said that it personified her heart, divided in two by love for her homeland and her husband.

The widower did not grieve for a long time, but returned to his homeland, where he presented a beautiful stone to the queen.

In the 18th century Bolivian ametrines were in demand among the European nobility.

In a series of wars and natural disasters, the deposit was lost and rediscovered only in the 1970s.

Ametrine deposits: where and how they are mined

All gem-quality ametrines are mined in Bolivia, in the state of Anahi, where, according to legend, the tragic events of the legend unfolded. Less saturated minerals are found in Brazil. Sometimes yellow-violet stones are found in Siberia.

Ametrine is mined exclusively using the “closed” method. A shaft is dug and tunnels are laid, then workers use hand-held percussion tools to break off the rock and lift it to the surface in bags.

In our catalog you can choose and buy natural ametrine of different origins.

Refinement methods

The quality of natural ametrines is improved by annealing. During exposure, the shade becomes more saturated, but only in the amethyst zone: pale lilac turns purple. The citrine inclusion remains almost as pale.

Weakly colored crystals are sometimes refined using a double method: first they are annealed and then irradiated. In this case, the color of the stones changes dramatically in both zones.

Grown Ametrine

The stone is grown in the laboratory using the hydrothermal method in proprietary solutions, followed by doping and irradiation of the finished crystals.

Ametrine obtained in this way does not differ in physical and chemical composition from natural one. An increased concentration of manganese and iron is recorded. Growth features such as color zoning and twinning are identical to the natural mineral.

Imitation ametrine

Natural stones can be quite highly valued, which is why they are often counterfeited.

• Artificial ametrines are obtained from natural amethysts by heating followed by irradiation, after pre-treating the crystals with a special paste with iron ions. Sometimes a piece of amethyst is covered with foil and then heated to create a dramatic color transition.
• Frequent imitation – applied. This is a glass-ceramic material that has a huge color palette and variety, but is not related to natural minerals.
• Zonal colored or glued jewelry glass is passed off as ametrine.

How to distinguish natural ametrine from a fake

It is difficult for the average person, far from gemology, to determine the origin of ametrine. It is best to carry out the analysis in a laboratory setting. To do this, the sample under study is placed in a polariscope with immersion liquid.

There are several ways to determine the authenticity of a stone “on the spot”:

• Low price. Bolivianite cannot be cheap.
• Palette. Bright, flashy shades with a perfectly even line of tonal separation are an indicator of imitation.
• Weight. Sitall is one and a half times heavier than natural stone.
• Classic color scheme. Ametrine combines only half-tones of violet and yellow. The combination of colorless and violet, green and yellow gives an imitation.