Quartz

specimen number:
2102172

location:
Reel Mine, Lincoln Co., North Carolina, USA

description:
A beautiful cluster of glassy gemmy purple quartz crystals with little attached matrix. This is the variety often called amethyst. From a classic locality, this is in super condition. Great luster and color on this one.

The Reel Mine, located near Iron Station in Lincoln County, North Carolina, is a historic locality famed for producing some of the finest amethyst crystals in the southeastern United States. Geologically, the deposit is situated within the Kings Mountain Belt, where hydrothermal quartz veins cut through weathered crystalline rocks, including schists and gneisses. The amethyst occurs in large clay-filled pockets or vugs, where iron-rich fluids crystallized to form deep purple, often bicolor or zoned, quartz crystals that frequently exhibit scepter growth habits. Historically, the mine was originally worked for iron ore in the early to mid 19th century to support local foundries. However, its significance as a gemstone locality grew in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with various periods of specimen mining occurring throughout the 20th century. While industrial iron production has long since ceased, the site remains a legendary name among mineralogists for the exceptional clarity, size, and intense color of the amethyst specimens recovered from its red Piedmont soils.

Questions about this specimen?
Send an email or call us: 314-341-1811.