GAVILAN COLLEGE
Gems, Minerals and Geology
~ Oh My! by TOPS a Rock Shop
BIG IG TIIME HOME OME TOWN LOCATION
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methyst is purpled quartz and the birthstone for February. Quartz is one of the most common minerals on earth and ranges from clear to purple to yellow to blue to green.
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For centuries amethyst was associated with curing people, including a cure for drunkenness. It was assumed that whatever turned the stone purple explained this ability to cure. This tradition goes so far into history that the ancient Greeks and Romans would wear amulets or make drinking vessels of amethyst to guard against intoxication! The ancient Greek word “amethystos” is often translated as “not intoxicated.”
Modern technology has solved the riddle of what makes amethyst purple. Quartz with trace amounts of iron will turn purple when exposed to radiation thus creating amethyst. Natural amethyst gets its purple color from exposure to natural radiation.
In spite of how it was formed, amethyst is
quite safe. The radiation which formed natural amethyst was in the far distant past and the crystals we find today are not radioactive. Amethyst ranges in color from a very pale lavender to deep purple. For jewelry the deep purple with flashes of red or blue is often the most desired color. However, there has been a recent growth in interest in paler colors of amethyst, sometimes referred to as Rose de France.
Amethyst is found all over the world, including the United States. In California one can find amethyst at Hallelujah Junction in the Peterson Mountains, the Kingston Range in San Bernardino County, and the Hauser Geode Beds near Blythe, CA. Gems, Minerals and Geology – Oh My! is brought to you by TOPS a Rock Shop offering min- erals, fossils, crystals and gemstones from all over for more than 30 years! TOPS a Rock Shop is now located at 209 3rd Street in downtown San Juan Bautista.
www.gavillan.edu Out & About • July 2011 11
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available online, at Gavilan College sites in Gilroy, Morgan Hill and Hollister,l
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