3" Amazonite Crystals On Smoky Quartz - Colorado

Amazonite is a green variety of microcline feldspar that is the state mineral of Colorado. It has recently received a lot of attention for its prominence on the reality show, “Prospectors” which follows several groups of Colorado mineral miners. In fact, most of our amazonite is sourced from some of the prospectors on the show. High quality amazonite crystals are found at several locations in Colorado, often in vugs associated with smoky quartz.

The name comes from the Amazon River, where it was thought Amazonite was originally found, though it’s now thought doubtful that it occurs in the region. For years it was thought that the green color was due to copper content, but we now know that it’s due to very small quantities of lead present in the mineral.

Smoky quartz is a grey-brown to black variety of quartz. This common name is derived from the appearance of smoke within the quartz crystal. Dependent on the location and the chemicals present during formation, smoky quartz can appear opaque black, however it’s typically translucent to some extent. It’s believed that the quartz gains this color from a combination of natural irradiation and aluminum impurities.