Spherical Amethyst (''Grapes'')

Item Description

The highly varying number of styles, habits, colors and shapes seen in Quartz (including many varieties) is unsurpassed. With that said, new material still shows up on the market that is unlike anything previously seen. This beautiful piece comes to us from the Mamuju area in Indonesia, and they are certainly some of the most distinctive and interesting specimens of Quartz to hit the market. They were labeled with various name varying from "Chalcedony" to "Agate" to Quartz and Amethyst when they first came out. I'm sure you've seen people selling them as either "Grape Agate" or "Grape Chalcedony" due to the purple color and the fact that they have formed in groups that look like bunches of grapes. Frankly, there could easily be 100 terms to describe cryptocrystalline / drusy / massive uncrystallized Quartz, so you see a lot of names for this kind of material when a new discovery is made. It should be noted that analysis by Dr. George Rossman at Caltech concluded these should be labeled as AMETHYST, and not Chalcedony or Agate, as there is micro crystallization on the surface, so they are QUARTZ var: AMETHYST. We were able to pick up some pieces direct from the source, and we're happy to have specimens to place in the auctions for all you Quartz collectors out there. It should be noted that with a lot of new discoveries, it’s hard to say how much more will be available, and in what quality. Often the best material tends to find its way to the market first, and is typically the least expensive. This piece is filled with beautiful botryoidal, translucent "balls" measuring to about 4 mm with beautiful purple color. There is a even a bit of Celadonite inclusions on one side, creating a gentle blue-green hue. The piece is rather three-dimensional all around and looks good from several angles. Great shape overall, and a wonderful opportunity to pick up a piece of this exciting and unique material.