Ametrine
quartz
A single quartz crystal that grew through a temperature gradient, ending up amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, with a boundary you could cut yourself on. Commercially it comes from essentially one place: the Anahí mine in eastern Bolivia. People carry it for clarity, transformation and abundance.
Seen · you don't have this one yet
Mineral facts
Hardness
7 Mohs
Formula
SiO2
Family
quartz
Where it comes from
Bolivia (Anahí Mine, Santa Cruz), Brazil (rare), India (rare)
What it is
A single quartz crystal that grew through a temperature gradient, ending up amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, with a boundary you could cut yourself on. Commercially it comes from essentially one place: the Anahí mine in eastern Bolivia. The rest of the market is heated or grown.
What it is confused with
citrine-heat-treated, amethyst, synthetic-ametrine, dyed-quartz
One crystal split into a violet zone and a yellow-orange zone with a straight, sharp, planar boundary between them, the boundary follows a crystallographic growth plane, so it is a flat line or angular junction, never a soft blend or a swirl. Both halves are transparent quartz with vitreous luster and conchoidal fracture. Genuine natural ametrine shows the two colours meeting at a defined plane; synthetic and heat-zoned imitations often show a diffuse gradient or a curved boundary.
How to tell
Examine the colour junction under a bright light. A knife-sharp planar boundary favours natural Bolivian material; a fuzzy gradient or curved band suggests partially heated amethyst or lab-grown material. Scratches glass in both zones.
Natural ametrine is untreated. Partially heated amethyst and Russian hydrothermal synthetic ametrine both exist in the market; the fuzzy colour boundary gives them away.
What it means for you
The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Ametrine is a quartz, 7 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.
You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.
Ametrine for every sign
Aries
Two halves of one crystal, and the order still shows.
One quartz crystal grew through a temperature gradient and came out violet at one end and orange at the other, with a boundary sharp enough to cut yourself on. Nearly all of it comes from a single mine in eastern Bolivia. Two halves of one crystal, and the order still shows.
Taurus
It grew through a temperature gradient without moving.
The boundary between the violet half and the orange half is a flat crystallographic plane, so a soft gradient there means heat or a lab. Commercially it comes from the Anahi mine in eastern Bolivia and effectively nowhere else. It grew through a temperature gradient without moving.
Gemini
One crystal, two colours, one boundary you could cut yourself on.
One crystal, two colours, one straight boundary you could cut yourself on. Amethyst grew at one end and citrine at the other because the water changed temperature partway, and commercially it comes from a single mine in Bolivia. A soft blend at the junction means someone used an oven.
Cancer
The line is where the water cooled.
A single crystal grew through a temperature gradient and finished amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, with a flat boundary between them. Almost all of it comes out of the Anahi mine in Bolivia. The line is where the water cooled.
Leo
In sun the violet half fades and the gold does not.
One mine in eastern Bolivia supplies essentially the entire world. A single quartz crystal grew through a temperature gradient and came out violet at one end and gold at the other, with a flat crystallographic boundary between them. In sun the violet half fades and the gold does not.
Virgo
The boundary is a flat plane you could cut yourself on.
Commercially it comes from one mine, the Anahi in eastern Bolivia, where a crystal grew through a temperature gradient and finished violet at one end and yellow at the other. The boundary is a flat crystallographic plane you could cut yourself on. A soft blend means a kiln.
Libra
The boundary is straight because neither half conceded anything.
One crystal grown through a temperature gradient, amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, meeting on a flat crystallographic plane you could cut yourself on. Commercially it comes from a single mine in Bolivia. The boundary is straight because neither half conceded anything.
Scorpio
Two positions in one body, nothing blended between them.
One crystal grown through a temperature gradient, amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, meeting along a boundary sharp enough to cut on. Commercially it comes from a single mine in eastern Bolivia. Two positions in one body with nothing blended in between.
Sagittarius
Commercially it comes from one mine in eastern Bolivia.
One crystal that grew through a temperature gradient and came out amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, with a boundary you could cut yourself on. Commercially it comes from one mine in eastern Bolivia. The far-off thing is real for once.
Capricorn
A boundary sharp enough to cut yourself on.
Violet at one end, orange at the other, with a boundary between them sharp enough to cut yourself on. It grew through a temperature gradient in one Bolivian mine and essentially nowhere else. A soft blend means someone heated half an amethyst and hoped.
Aquarius
Aquarius holds two positions without softening either.
One crystal, two colours, and a boundary so straight you could rule a line along it. The violet half grew at one temperature and the yellow half at another, inside a single Bolivian mine. Aquarius holds two positions without softening either.
Pisces
Two states in one body, with no blending along the join.
A single crystal that grew through a temperature gradient, amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, with a boundary flat enough to cut yourself on. Commercially it comes from one Bolivian mine. Two states in one body, with no blending along the join.
Correspondences
What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.
Element
air
Planet
Mercury
Chakra
solar-plexus, third-eye, crown
Signs
gemini, libra, virgo
What tradition says
In crystal lore, ametrine is associated with reconciling opposites, head and gut, restraint and appetite, an attribution obviously derived from its two-tone appearance.
Care
- Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
- Keep it out of direct sun. The colour goes and does not come back.
- The amethyst half will fade in strong sun while the citrine half will not — leaving an unbalanced stone. Store away from direct light.
Common questions
What does ametrine mean?
Ametrine is carried for clarity, transformation and abundance. A single quartz crystal that grew through a temperature gradient, ending up amethyst at one end and citrine at the other, with a boundary you could cut yourself on.. Tradition links it to the solar-plexus, third-eye, crown chakra.
Is ametrine real or fake?
Ametrine is not faked often, but it is still worth checking. Examine the colour junction under a bright light. A knife-sharp planar boundary favours natural Bolivian material; a fuzzy gradient or curved band suggests partially heated amethyst or lab-grown material.. Natural ametrine is untreated.
Can ametrine go in water?
A short rinse is fine for ametrine, then dry it. Keep it out of direct sun, because the colour fades and does not come back.
Uncommon · purple and yellow-orange in one stone
Where this leads
This stone belongs to
Related crystals
FOR ENTERTAINMENT AND REFLECTION. NOT MEDICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, FINANCIAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. How this works