Yoo Hoo Amethyst Guy

[Gailey]

I have been reading elsewhere that amethyst fades. Can you tell us amethyst lovers a bit more about this. Is fading common to all amethyst or material from certain locations.

 

[Barrett]

All amethyst fades in sunlight..some quicker or more so than others..to get technical real quick..jump back to high school chemistry..the purple you see is caused by iron with +4 electron valence..it started out a +3 but due to natural radiation in the ground from decay it excited the iron ions and bumped them up to a +4 which absorbs a certain wavelength and there you have your purple color..so you have +3 which shows no color get bumped up to a +4 which shows you purple color..

okay so when UV light from sunlight hits your amethyst it re-excites those +4 ions and they start shaking about and jostling here and bouncing there...well since they are so excited they decide to jump ship and head someplace else..it''s to boring to sit here with this iron atom..let me check back with ole'' silicon atom and see what he is doing...well once you get back over to silicon you realize he is no fun..just a grouchy old silicon atom..damn, iron was much more fun..he had much more color and excitment going on over there..by now you are so tired and out of energy you can''t make it back to see what iron is up to...while iron had the party going on with 4 people..once that 4th person left and it was down to 3 then the party was over..hence no color.

Okay so some amethyst fades rather quickly..i have seen big amethyst plates in South carolina fade within hours of being pulled from the vein as well as fade when not exposed to direct sunlight(same S.C. material)...some amethyst fades so slowly that it is not even noticable and you would say that it doesn''t fade at all but in fact it does but so slowly you can''t notice. I think most ammy''s you have noting to worry about as the change is so gradual and over such a long period of time that it''s nothing to worry about. As for JXR ammy''s..both the previos mine owner and one of the current mine owners have said that their amethyst does not fade(fades so slowly you can''t notice)..one has left crystal plates in his backyard for ther last couple of years with no discernable color change where as one of the curent owners has had a few crystals sitting in his window sill for over a year now without and change he said. I am not sure about standard ammy''s like those from brazil, uruguay, and Zambia bujt i am sure that they all fade so slowly with normal wear that it is never really a problem...so I have persoanlly seen as with 5 other people huge amethyst fade within hours of coming out of the ground but amethyst sittinbg in direct sunlight not noticable fade over a long period of time. i have no idea what governs which ones fade and which ones don''t noticable fade...your guess is as good as mine

 

[ma re]

Thanks for the lesson amguy! So this is how you explain gemology in a kindergarten?!

Anyway, do you know if heating of amethyst has any effect on fading?

 

[Barrett]

did you like that..i was going to just run the normal atomic routine but decided to put a spin on it..has nothing to do with the folks on here was just trying out something new..I call it "flair"..LOL..it''s like 2:30 a.m...i guess i think a little different in the wee morning hours..well you know it changes to citrine when heated and coloress when heated more...i don''t know if when heated it jumps to yellow or sort of fades the purple then with yellow slowly filling in the gaps..not really sure on that

 

[ma re]

Date: 8/23/2009 3:35:49 AM
Author: amethystguy
well you know it changes to citrine when heated and coloress when heated more...i don''t know if when heated it jumps to yellow or sort of fades the purple then with yellow slowly filling in the gaps..not really sure on that

Yes I know that, but I was referring to cases when it''s just slightly heated to lighten the (overly) dark color and improve clarity, not so much to turn it into citrine - so I was wondering if those stones still fade in sunlight after heating. Just a thought.

 

[Gailey]

Date: 8/23/2009 3:35:49 AM
Author: amethystguy
did you like that..i was going to just run the normal atomic routine but decided to put a spin on it..has nothing to do with the folks on here was just trying out something new..I call it ''flair''..LOL..it''s like 2:30 a.m...i guess i think a little different in the wee morning hours..well you know it changes to citrine when heated and coloress when heated more...i don''t know if when heated it jumps to yellow or sort of fades the purple then with yellow slowly filling in the gaps..not really sure on that

Thanks for the response Jason, and I loved your analogy. I actually read your post at 2:30 am MST! I thought about replying then, but decided that I''d never get back to sleep. Having already witnessed the fading topaz at first hand, I was afraid that my amethyst was going to be forever destined to come out at night!

 

[litebrite]

You''re like Bill Nye the Science Guy, but with bling. Love it.

 

[MustangGal]

Awesome explination!

I have a 20+carat ammy hanging from my rear-view mirror. It''s been there about a year now, in the hot Phoenix sun, and hasn''t faded at all as far as I can tell. I think it''s from Brazil.

 

[Barrett]

are you sure it''s an amethyst? most ammy''s fade so slowly that it''s not perceptable but one in the car on the rearview mirror should show a slight color difference due to UV..it''s inevitable

 

[Fly Girl]

Oh my.

Now I''m worried about all my new ammys. I guess they will be stored in a box when not being worn. Too bad, I was going to leave them out so I could enjoy the pretty colors.

I''m wondering if anyone has done some color measurements of Brazilian or African amethyst to see what the rate of change was. It seems to me this would be a fairly easy experiment to set up. (Yes, I did laboratory research in my younger days.) You would need some test material, measure the original depth of color, put some of the material in the sun and some in a dark box for the control, then take it out and remeasure at intervals. Real scientific data would be useful here to get some idea of how fast this material fades.

 

[Barrett]

I think it would be so slow you would need a real sharp eye or some sophisticated testing epuipment to tell...I wouldn''t worry about it to much with regular ammy''s..I know you won''t catch any of the min. delaers at the big outdoor shows with any of there cut ammy''s or min. specs. sitting in the sun..lthe previous owner of JXR and the current owner have both had some of those ammy''s sitting outside or in a window sill for over a year with no noticable fading but at the Diamond Hill mine in S.C. where we pull out huge ammy''s..some of those noticably fade within hours of being in direct sunlight...i woudn''t worry about it most would fade so slow you wouldn''t notice it..althought if you had a high dollar stone or specimen then i might be a little careful

 

[Fly Girl]

Date: 8/24/2009 8:12:30 PM
Author: amethystguy
I think it would be so slow you would need a real sharp eye or some sophisticated testing epuipment to tell...I wouldn''t worry about it to much with regular ammy''s..I know you won''t catch any of the min. delaers at the big outdoor shows with any of there cut ammy''s or min. specs. sitting in the sun..lthe previous owner of JXR and the current owner have both had some of those ammy''s sitting outside or in a window sill for over a year with no noticable fading but at the Diamond Hill mine in S.C. where we pull out huge ammy''s..some of those noticably fade within hours of being in direct sunlight...i woudn''t worry about it most would fade so slow you wouldn''t notice it..althought if you had a high dollar stone or specimen then i might be a little careful

Thanks, amguy. I recently got 3 Richard Homer amethyst briolettes, which are on the pricey side. They are so pretty I was planning on hanging them on a jewelry tree on my dresser (which is not in the sun, BTW) to gaze at when not being worn. I don''t think there is much UV in my bedroom, so that is probably o.k. But, the fading question has me a bit concerned. I''m wondering how much safer they would be from a color perspective by keeping them in a dark box? Of course, I was discussing this with my 20 year old DD today, and she points out that at my advanced age, it probably won''t matter. And, she assured me, she won''t want them after I''m gone (sigh...)

 

[blithesome71]

Amethystguy, i just want to ask you about natural blue topaz. Does the huge production of treated blue topaz has essentially dropped the price of the natural blue topaz? I read from palagems but I''m not sure. Isn''t it that natural blue topaz are rare? Also, what about the blue topaz from St. Ann mines? Are they rare & valuable (than natural blue topaz from russia and other origin?)? Please enlighten me... Thanks in advance!

 

[oddoneout]

Wow thanks for all the info. Amethyst is one of my favourite stones.

 

[D&T]

Date: 8/24/2009 8:40:16 PM
Author: Fly Girl

Date: 8/24/2009 8:12:30 PM
Author: amethystguy
I think it would be so slow you would need a real sharp eye or some sophisticated testing epuipment to tell...I wouldn''t worry about it to much with regular ammy''s..I know you won''t catch any of the min. delaers at the big outdoor shows with any of there cut ammy''s or min. specs. sitting in the sun..lthe previous owner of JXR and the current owner have both had some of those ammy''s sitting outside or in a window sill for over a year with no noticable fading but at the Diamond Hill mine in S.C. where we pull out huge ammy''s..some of those noticably fade within hours of being in direct sunlight...i woudn''t worry about it most would fade so slow you wouldn''t notice it..althought if you had a high dollar stone or specimen then i might be a little careful

Thanks, amguy. I recently got 3 Richard Homer amethyst briolettes, which are on the pricey side. They are so pretty I was planning on hanging them on a jewelry tree on my dresser (which is not in the sun, BTW) to gaze at when not being worn. I don''t think there is much UV in my bedroom, so that is probably o.k. But, the fading question has me a bit concerned. I''m wondering how much safer they would be from a color perspective by keeping them in a dark box? Of course, I was discussing this with my 20 year old DD today, and she points out that at my advanced age, it probably won''t matter. And, she assured me, she won''t want them after I''m gone (sigh...)

oooh,,, FG... I read this and I was sad

and

at the same time...lol, send them to your fellow PS, we''ll enjoy them for you

 

[cushioncutnut]

So amethyst, like kunzite can fade...............

Learn something new everyday! Thanks for the little science lesson AmethystGuy!

 

[LD]

Date: 9/7/2009 10:31:59 AM
Author: cushioncutnut
So amethyst, like kunzite can fade...............

Learn something new everyday! Thanks for the little science lesson AmethystGuy!

This is interesting. I believe that the Kunzite that fades quickly is typically the material that's heated in the first place and if re-heated the colour can come back. I'm still toying with stuffing one inside a chicken in the oven to see what happens

Kunzite that hasn't been heated is supposed to fade much slower (if at all) when exposed to sunlight.

AG, I wonder if how much heat the Amethyst has been exposed to in the ground has anything to do with fading or not? Just a thought!

 

[chrono]

LD,
I''ve not heard of the Kunzite''s colour "coming back" so to speak. I''ve read discussions about it but it seems there is no way to make the colour return.

Am Guy,
You''ve made my post Labour Day Tuesday a blast this morning. I love your humourous explanation.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Date: 8/23/2009 3:11:04 AM
Author: amethystguy
All amethyst fades in sunlight..some quicker or more so than others..to get technical real quick..jump back to high school chemistry..the purple you see is caused by iron with +4 electron valence..it started out a +3 but due to natural radiation in the ground from decay it excited the iron ions and bumped them up to a +4 which absorbs a certain wavelength and there you have your purple color..so you have +3 which shows no color get bumped up to a +4 which shows you purple color..


okay so when UV light from sunlight hits your amethyst it re-excites those +4 ions and they start shaking about and jostling here and bouncing there...well since they are so excited they decide to jump ship and head someplace else..it''s to boring to sit here with this iron atom..let me check back with ole'' silicon atom and see what he is doing...well once you get back over to silicon you realize he is no fun..just a grouchy old silicon atom..damn, iron was much more fun..he had much more color and excitment going on over there..by now you are so tired and out of energy you can''t make it back to see what iron is up to...while iron had the party going on with 4 people..once that 4th person left and it was down to 3 then the party was over..hence no color.


Okay so some amethyst fades rather quickly..i have seen big amethyst plates in South carolina fade within hours of being pulled from the vein as well as fade when not exposed to direct sunlight(same S.C. material)...some amethyst fades so slowly that it is not even noticable and you would say that it doesn''t fade at all but in fact it does but so slowly you can''t notice. I think most ammy''s you have noting to worry about as the change is so gradual and over such a long period of time that it''s nothing to worry about. As for JXR ammy''s..both the previos mine owner and one of the current mine owners have said that their amethyst does not fade(fades so slowly you can''t notice)..one has left crystal plates in his backyard for ther last couple of years with no discernable color change where as one of the curent owners has had a few crystals sitting in his window sill for over a year now without and change he said. I am not sure about standard ammy''s like those from brazil, uruguay, and Zambia bujt i am sure that they all fade so slowly with normal wear that it is never really a problem...so I have persoanlly seen as with 5 other people huge amethyst fade within hours of coming out of the ground but amethyst sittinbg in direct sunlight not noticable fade over a long period of time. i have no idea what governs which ones fade and which ones don''t noticable fade...your guess is as good as mine

great explanation.
love it.

Wikipedia says
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amethyst

Further study has shown a complex interplay of iron and aluminium is responsible for the color.
Do you know how the aluminium is involved in the colour?

 

[StonieGrl]

Hey mustang gal, I am in Phoenix too

Do you have a jeweler here that you have worked with? If so, please share. I''ve darkened the doorstep of Oliver Smith but have not given them a stone to set as of yet. Not sure...