Quartz var: Amethyst (''Cactus'' style crystals)

Item Description

This is a wonderful, eye-catching, three-dimensional cabinet sized display specimen of what is commonly referred to as "Cactus Amethyst" or "Spirit Quartz" from South Africa. These notably distinctive specimens were a big hit on the market when they first appeared in the mid 2000s, and are still popular with collectors, especially Quartz enthusiasts, as the form and overall appearance doesn't quite resemble anything we've seen previously. This showy specimen hosts beautiful, lustrous, drusy, translucent lilac crystals of Amethyst sitting on an earlier generation of prismatic Amethyst to create the unique style. The pointed pyramidal terminations of the original Quartz crystals are isolated, while the body of the crystals have a prickly, "cactus" appearance with an overgrowth of smaller crystals along the prisms. Boekenhoutshoek is the true source for the Amethystine Quartz, erroneously marketed at first as being from the Magaliesberg Range. The largest crystal on the specimen measures 5.6 cm long. There are a few nicks, so the piece is not perfect, but still very attractive on display on a shelf.