Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:04 pm Posts: 1642 Location: Walnut Creek, CA
We are used to see tons of amethyst from Southern America, and quite a lot from Africa too. There's some also in US. But what about Europe, and Italy in particular?
In the Alps, there's some, but it's usually rather light in tone, and very rare. In Alpine-type fissures is rarely found, usually with cool "scepter" growth forms. Sometimes associated with pink-reddish fluorite (that is usually associated with smoky quartz, way more frequent, btw). These are very showy and sought-after minerals around the area of the Monte Bianco, to cite a classic location. But there are a few exceptions.
In the South-Western Alps, in Italy, there is a mine of iron ore near the town of Traversella. This deposit is related to the contact metamorphism caused by the "Traversella pluton" (Oligocene). There, in 1959, there was a "legendary" discovery of a single amethyst pocket in the mine. That pocked was not cultivated and eventually that section of the mine collapsed and very few samples of that amethyst were recovered. Almost all the crystals available today have been collected from the debris in/around the mine.
A colleague of mine had a broken crystal with a nice clean portion, so asked me to cut a gemstone out of it. How could I pass on such a offer? Well, this is the true meaning of "Made in Italy": an Italian stone cut by an Italian guy.
There was a big stress fracture to deal with and it was running while preforming the stone... but at the end it was not a big issue, even if I was quite worried. At the end I got a very flashy flawless 7.0 ct. stone. The location makes this stone extremely rare. And it's pretty too. (Plus there's room for a small another one, for me, from another fragment )
You can appreciate the rarity of this amethyst by checking this page on Palagems, where a picture of a Traversella amethyst crystal is displayed in the context of an exhibition of Alpine minerals:
This amethyst from Piedmont, Italy, from the collection of Pala’s Bill Larson, will be displayed in Munich as part of an exhibit of Traversella specimens. It measures 15 x 6.5 cm. (15 x 3.5 cm. crystal alone). (Photo: Mia Dixon) (quoting their caption)
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:40 pm Posts: 2667 Location: South Dakota
Great stone! The cutting looks top notch, Maia. Wonderful back story. I had never heard of this deposit until now. Thanks for the educational information!
_________________ MrAmethystguy ~ Some jokes just fluorite over my head!
Hi to everybody! Amethysts from Italy are not so seldom to be found. The Traversella one follows the French Alpine series where amethyst are frequently found, for example in Bourg d'Oisans etc. Then, we all must remember the Osilo quarry in Sardinia, where amethysts as well as rose quartzes are found, also in nice specimens! Greetings from Italy by Riccardo.
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