A Gorgeous Rare Stone - Rutilated Amethyst

Earlier in the summer I made my way to a gem show up in Seattle. I haven't gotten to go to Tucson in awhile (if you aren't aware - Tucson hosts the largest Gem and Mineral show in the United States every year) and while I don't ever really *need* anything I do like to see what's out there.

I *try* to stick to a budget when I attend these things ... and yet somehow manage to come home with all sorts of things not on my list.

One of those things this time was an absolutely amazing and stunning strand of gemstones - the vendor called them Rutilated Amethyst. I'd never heard of it, though apparently it has been around for awhile. It is a Quartz gemstone with shades of Amethyst and rutiles in red (I believe the rutiles are a mineral called lepidocrosite).

This species of stone can range from clear with sharp rutiles to mottled amethyst purple. The stones I purchased are sharp, clear, crisp, and huge. =)

Translation = Expensive

Even though it's been around for years no one bothered to cut and market it as a gemstone so there really isn't a lot of it to work with.

So I got suckered, I mean talked, into buying a strand for an arm and a leg but I tell you what... I got these home and they were even MORE beautiful. Using the whole strand in one necklace would make the necklace ridiculously expensive. I finally got around to cutting the strand apart this weekend and made a necklace and a pair of earrings.




Hope you like! =)