Bolivianita, a Different Kind of Jewel
Published On: 11-10-2011 06:25pm
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Category: Crafts
I am not a jewelry crafter, but I read an interesting article about a beautiful gem, bolivianita! Additional research gave me the following information:
Quartz gems of amethyst and citrine, purple and yellow, combined in the same stone is called ametrine or bolivianita in Spanish. This gem is deep purple at first glance. But when you hold it up to light, you see the glimmer of gold.
Just how two colors come to be in the same crystal is not completely understood. It seems that as the quartz crystals were forming, some change occurred in the geochemical conditions, temperature, radiation, or pressure. Gemologists cut and polish the stones so that both colors are included in each gem.
Bolivia is said to be the world’s only significant source of natural ametrine. The Anahi Mine in Bolivia is the major world producer of ametrine. The gem is found sometimes 200 feet deep in the mine. Traditional mining methods of drilling and blasting are used until pockets of the precious stone are reached and then are extracted by hand. A mixture of raw stones are sent to a processing plant, where a small percentage are turned into gems. The rest are formed into beads, spheres, and prisms. Some are carved into sculptures, and other chunks are sold as ornaments just as they are.
Bolivianite is a trade name for artificial ametrine which was first marketed openly in 1989. It is created by a specific heat process treatment of amethyst.
Ametrine is a very durable gemstone and used in jewelry in a variety of ways. Most sizes and shapes are available but the color contrast is most pronounced in sizes over seven carats. Natural ametrine is also comparatively inexpensive when you consider that it comes from only one mine in the world!
I don’t know if any of the numerous jewelry crafters here on Artifire use natural ametrine or even artificial ametrine, Bolivianite, but it is indeed a unique beauty of a gem.
