Spherical Amethyst (''Grapes'')

Item Description

What a beautiful display specimen of these unique and captivating "Grape" Amethyst specimens from Sulawesi, Indonesia. There are many styles, colors and forms of Quartz worldwide, but these pieces are certainly distinct and stand out from anything else we've seen. You might see these pieces labeled as being Agate or Chalcedony (sometimes "Grape Agate" or "Grape Chalcedony"), but analysis by Dr. George Rossman at Caltech concluded these should be labeled as Amethyst, because they are truly crystallized at the micro level, and they're not cryptocrystalline or macro-crystalline. Obviously these specimens got their nickname due to the fact that they are purple and genuinely resemble bunches of grapes. Even though these pieces are fairly new to the market, very little seems to be out there now, and perhaps it is drying up. If you missed out on these when they first came out, this is a great opportunity to pick up a really attractive specimen for a great piece. This piece is full of eye-catching, translucent, sparkling/drusy "balls" or spheroids measuring up to about 5 mm across which are beautifully intergrown and can be seen on every side of the specimen. The color is a vivid purple, darker than most you'll see from this area, and it's consistent on all sides. This piece is almost crystallized all over, nearly a complete "floater", but there are few points of attachment on the bottom. There is a lot of Quartz in the world, but these pieces are truly unique and would make a superb addition to any Quartz suite. See the fine article in 2018 The Mineralogical Record issue, Vol. 49, No. 6, pgs. 827-836 .