Quartz

specimen number:
8911021

location:
Piedra Parada, Tatatila, Veracruz, Mexico

description:
Classic Mexican specimen with glassy gemmy light purple crystals of quartz, the variety often called amethyst, measuring to 4.0 cm in height coming off matrix. This is in very good condition all around with just slight micro-damage present on smaller crystals near the matrix only. All of the prominent crystals are in great condition.

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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