Prasiolite (also known as green quartz, green amethyst or vermarine) is a
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...
variety of
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...
.
Since 1950, almost all natural prasiolite has come from a small
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
ian mine, but it has also been mined in the
Lower Silesia region of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. Naturally occurring prasiolite has also been found in the
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario. Its population i ...
area of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
Most prasiolite sold is used in
jewellery
Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
settings, where it can substitute for far more expensive precious
gemstones.
Prasiolite is a rare stone in nature; artificial prasiolite is produced from
amethyst
Amethyst is a Violet (color), violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek from - , "not" and (Ancient Greek) / (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from Alcohol into ...
.
[ Most amethyst will turn yellow or orange when heated, producing heat-treated amethysts which are often marketed as citrine, but some amethyst will turn green when treated. Currently, almost all prasiolite on the market is made from amethyst via a process of heating and irradiation.]Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
Guidelines. Other names for green quartz include vermarine and lime citrine.
The word prasiolite literally means " scallion green-colored stone" and is derived from Greek πράσον ''prason'' meaning " leek" and λίθος ''lithos'' meaning "stone". The mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...
was given its name due to its green-colored appearance.
Natural prasiolite is a very light, translucent green. Darker green quartz is generally the result of artificial treatment.[Gems and Gemstones: Timeless Natural Beauty of the Mineral World By Lance Grande, Allison Augustyn, p.91]
See also
* List of minerals
References
External links
– Prasiolite on Mindat.org
Quartz gemstones
{{Mineral-stub