Oval Concave Prasiolite

Description

Unique Oval Concave Prasiolite cut Quartz (or vermarine) is the name for any quartz crystal or cluster that is green in colour. Prasiolite is cut as a gemstone but is actually quite rare in nature. Most prasiolites on the market are heat treated amethyst. Prasiolite (also known as green quartz, green amethyst or vermarine) is a green variety of quartz. It is a rare stone in nature; artificially produced prasiolite is heat treated amethyst. Most amethyst will turn yellow or orange when heated producing citrine, but some amethyst will turn green when treated.

Green quartz is incorrectly called green amethyst, which is not an acceptable name for the material, the proper terminology being prasiolite. Other names for green quartz are vermarine or lime citrine. Oval Concave Prasiolite Green Quartz is a yellowish green to green material that is produced when natural amethyst is heated or irradiated. Most consumers are not familiar with prasiolite, and for that reason it is not often seen in commercial jewelry.

Only a few amethyst localities in the world are known to have amethyst that converts to prasiolite upon heating. Most prasiolite entering the gem market today is made by heating amethyst and yellow quartz from the Montezuma deposit in Minas Gerais, Brazil. An amethyst deposit in Arizona also contains material that can be heat-treated to prasiolite. Some amethyst found in Poland can be irradiated to produce prasiolite. Natural prasiolite is rare and is not currently an important source of material for the gemstone market.