Ametrine Adventure

An Ametrine, also called Trystine, or when traded Bolivianite - is a quartz crystal which is a mix between a Citrine (yellow) and an Amethyst (purple).

Almost all commercially traded Ametrine is mined in Bolivia in South America - hence the name Bolivianite. Unlike the amethyst it doesn't grow in clusters and it has to be cut for you to see the different colors clearly. The two different colors in the gem is due to different states of oxidization of iron in the crystal. The citrine segments have the presence of oxidized iron, whilst in the amethyst segments the iron hasn't oxidized. This happens when there is a temperature gradient in the crystal as it is formed.

There are ways to create an Ametrine in a lab by blasting a citrine with beta radiation, creating an amethyst portion of the gem, or by exposing an amethyst to differentiated heat treatment, thus creating a citrine portion.

Quartz has the chemical name SiO2 (Silicone Dioxide), and has a hardness of 7 on Moh's scale.

According to legend Ametrines were first introduced in Europe by a conquistador who gifted the gems to the Spanish Queen in the 1600's, after he was gifted a Bolivian mine when he married a local princess from the Ayoreo tribe.