Identity Help - Amethyst from?

I bought a nice amethyst but the seller wasn't sure about locality. Just curious from which locality sample is. They said just that comes from Russia... Thanks for ideas!!
Jan

Sample is covered with some small balls (zeolite?), matrix is quartz and feldspar (probably K-feldspar). On the backside is sample covered witht crust of? (bubbled with H3PO4)

Check on "fakes" from Russia. This looks very familiar to the matrix of a spectacular specimen I'd seen 6 or so years ago simply labeled as Russia and the same nebulous comment from the dealer. As amethyst like yours and the dandy I saw would be considered noteworthy, it seems odd that nobody seems to know much about them, except, in talking with a gentleman and miner/collector from Groves Mnt GA, who's name escapes me now, he had seen an article about some lab grown material with quite convincing matrix "very similar" to this and the dandy. He stated that some even had square color patterns on the bottoms from the screen shelves they had been placed on in the lab.
As a lead for real amethyst, does anyone have more experience with Unaweep Canyon, CO material? This is a similar habit and color but I'm not familiar enough with the matrix there.
Just my notes as nobody else has commented.
Good luck,
Jim

The amethyst crystals are very likely from either Goboboseb or - more likely - from Brandberg.
I say so because they have s-faces, which is quite rare everywhere except for these 2 Namibian localities. The look, inclusions etc. fit these localities, too.
The matrix looks indeed a bit odd, but could still be o.k. for a Brandberg specimen - it looks granitic, which wouldn't fit Goboboseb. On some Brandberg specimens the feldpars look fairly rotten.

Ian, the crystals appear to be leaning to the matrix (as shown in the photo), I think is a fake.

It looks to me that the crystals have been glued on to the matrix! They don't look as though they are growing from it at all.

Amanda

If you open the photos in a download, then enlarge them, you can just about see where they do not appear to be attached to the matrix, they look as though they are sitting on top of the matrix. Also, in the first and second photo, when you zoom in, you can actually see underneath the crystals and see the matix 'growing' underneath.

It looks weird and just doesnt add up...

Sorry Jan, but I also reckon its a fake. Crystals glued on to matrix.

Claire

It may be repaired maybe not. The presence of partial terminations on the bottom of the crystals near the matrix suggests that they must have grown very "lightly" attached which would account for the weird look.

They do look like the Namibian crystals mentioned by Amir, If you look at the jagged edges of these crystals at the base where they are fully exposed this is typical from extraction of the hard matrix from Goboboseb, if naturally attached to this matrix then you would probably not see edges like this plus it would have some matrix attached or matrix obscuring the view of the base of each crystal.

Another factor is generally matrix specimens show signs of being DT's as are a lot of crystals from here it's just so hard to get out of the matrix especially when using tin cans

I'm pretty sure it's a fake.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2012 01:00PM by Debbie Woolf.

It certainly looks like a fake to me too, I have seveal amethysts from Russia, and none of them sit on that type of matrix!

Spencer.

If the matrix is quartz and feldspar as you say, soak the specimen in HCl or phosphoric acid, if the crystals are glued, it will likely detached them. Or if you are uncomfortable with acids, do it with acetone. You will quickly know if the crystals are glued or not.
J