Quartz

specimen number:
2062605

location:
Piedra Parada, Tatatila, Veracruz, Mexico

description:
Classic Mexican specimen with glassy gemmy purple crystals of quartz, the variety known as amethyst, measuring to 3.0 cm in height coming off matrix. In great condition. The specimen comes with a previous label from the collection of Ray DeMark.

Piedra Parada, located in the Tatatila municipality of Veracruz, Mexico, gained international recognition among mineral collectors in the 1960s as the primary source of world-renowned Veracruz amethyst. Geologically, unlike typical amethyst that forms inside basalt geodes, the deposit here consists of slender, highly transparent, prismatic crystals growing within gas cavities, vugs, and veins inside andesitic volcanic host rock. The distinctive pale lilac to deep purple color of this quartz variety develops from trace amounts of iron within the crystal lattice combined with natural radiation over geological time, and because surface deposits have grown scarce through decades of small-scale mining, these fine Mexican specimens remain exceptionally prized.

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