Amethyst

Balkhash, Karaganda Region, Kazakhstan

A small amethyst scepter of great intensity: a gemmy head in deep royal purple, perched on a matrix covered with tiny quartz crystals. Like every scepter, the head grew over the tip of an earlier, narrower crystal, and it ends in broad, glassy rhombohedral faces that give it a compact, almost jewel-like shape. Color zoning runs through the interior, from saturated purple at the tip to a softer lavender toward the base, and the clarity lets you look deep inside. A new find from Lake Balkhash in Kazakhstan, where the city of Balkhash has been a center of copper mining since 1937. This new material has only just reached the market. At 1.8 cm across, a thumbnail with the presence of a much larger piece.