Amethyst (Cactus Quartz) (ex Alex Cook Collection)

Item Description

A great display specimen of so-called "Cactus Quartz" or "Spirit Quartz" from South Africa. These pieces really made a splash on the market about 10 years ago. This piece features beautiful, lustrous, translucent to transparent, lilac crystals of Amethyst sitting on an earlier generation of Quartz. The terminations are isolated, while the body of the crystals have a prickly, "cactus" appearance with an overgrowth of smaller crystals. The light yellow iron oxide inclusions are a nice accent. Very little damage, and very showy. Boekenhoutshoek is the true source for the Amethystine Quartz, erroneously marketed at first as being from the Magaliesberg Range. Ex Alex Cook collection.