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Fakes & FraudsAmethyst cluster question

19th Dec 2017 21:49 UTCPuckmaren

Hello, I recently purchased an amethyst cluster candle holder online. It was a much paler purple in person than in the photo. I was just wondering, has the color been enhanced somehow.... it looks like the edges have been shaded with something, but can this be natural?

19th Dec 2017 22:02 UTCBob Harman

JOANNA,

Welcome to mindat. All shades of amethyst purple exist......from dark well saturated purple to very pale purple to nearly colorless. The pale and nearly colorless shades have little collector value when compared to the darker purple shades so the pale shades are often used for knick knacks etc such as yours. The photo may have been photo shopped, but the colors are natural. Enjoy your candle holder as it is.

Happy holidays. CHEERS......BOB

19th Dec 2017 23:13 UTCPuckmaren

Thank you for your response. It is a very beautiful Amethyst cluster either way :) Are the dark lines along the edges normal? The first photo shows them fairly clearly. I have never seen this on an amethyst cluster but it may well be natural.

19th Dec 2017 23:23 UTCWayne Corwin

Yes, it's natural, can see the same in some smoky quartz too.

20th Dec 2017 02:20 UTCPaul Brandes 🌟 Manager

Appears totally natural to me as well.

As Bob mentioned, Amethyst can range from nearly black to barely a tint.

20th Dec 2017 07:30 UTCDoug Daniels

I have a few specimens from the Mex-Tex Mine, New Mexico that show the same thing.....they are lightly amethyst, but the tips are a bit darker due to - whatever. At one point, years ago, I offered these during a trading event; several people told me I was crazy to get rid of them, so they are now in my collection. Thus, I too would say your's is natural, and just a neato variation, a keeper.

20th Dec 2017 21:16 UTCEd Clopton 🌟 Expert

Inspection of the darker edges under magnification may show that they are darkened by minute inclusions of something like goethite oriented along the crystal edges just beneath the surface. For chemical & physical reasons that are way over my head, sometimes inclusions orient themselves like that while the crystal is growing. It's not common, but certainly not unheard of. I have an amethyst crystal purchased decades ago from a basket of souvenir-grade material that shows exactly that phenomenon.

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