Amazonite, Meaning, Properties, and Facts

What is amazonite

Amazonite is microcline, one of the potassium feldspars common in granite, in a green to blue-green color. Research in the 1980s traced that color to small amounts of lead and water in the crystal, switched on by natural radiation from the surrounding rock. The white streaks in most pieces are albite, a sodium feldspar that separated out as the crystal cooled. The name comes from the Amazon River, though no amazonite deposit is known there.

Amazonite properties

Amazonite properties are feldspar properties: hard enough for jewelry, glassy, and split by two cleavage planes that meet at nearly a right angle. Those planes flash in the light and make it easier to chip than quartz. More detail is on Wikipedia's amazonite page.

Where amazonite is found

Amazonite is found in granite and granite pegmatites, and its most famous source is Colorado. The Pikes Peak granite west of Colorado Springs produces deep blue-green crystals paired with black smoky quartz, a combination collectors know worldwide (see Mindat's list of Colorado amazonite localities). Other sources include the Ilmen Mountains of Russia, Minas Gerais in Brazil, Madagascar, India and Amelia County, Virginia.

Amazonite stone colors and patterns

Amazonite stone colors run from pale mint to deep teal, and most pieces carry white streaks or stripes of albite. An amazonite crystal from a pegmatite is a blocky prism with flat faces, while tumbled stones, beads and carvings are cut from massive material. Deep, even color is less common than pale or patchy stone.

How to tell if amazonite is real

To tell if amazonite is real, look for white streaks, flat flashes and uneven color. Natural amazonite almost always has albite streaks and small cleavage planes that catch the light. Glass imitations show bubbles and swirls, dyed stones show color pooled in cracks, and a bright, perfectly uniform turquoise is a warning sign. Green aventurine glitters with mica flakes instead, and larimar, another blue stone, is softer and shows white web patterns.

Amazonite care: water and sun

Amazonite care is mostly about water and knocks: a rinse in lukewarm water with mild soap is fine, but skip long soaks and salt, which can work into the cleavage cracks. Store it away from harder stones and set it down gently, because those cleavage planes chip. Room light is not a known problem, but keep it off hot windowsills and away from heat, since high temperatures bleach the color.

Amazonite price and value

Amazonite price and value depend on color, pattern, clarity and source. Pale, streaky tumbled stones are inexpensive. Deep blue-green material with even color costs more, and Colorado crystals with smoky quartz on matrix are priced as collector specimens rather than stones.

Amazonite meaning and benefits

Amazonite meaning in crystal lore is courage and honest speech, and the benefits people claim for it include calm and clearer communication. That is belief, not chemistry. The history is older than the lore: green feldspar, generally identified as amazonite, appears in ancient Egyptian jewelry and amulets.

Amazonite for sale

Amazonite for sale at geoslut arrives in drops. Each piece is one of one, photographed in daylight and labeled with its locality, so you know whether it came from Colorado or farther away, and the list hears first.

Amazonite FAQ

Is amazonite water safe?

Amazonite is water safe for a rinse. Do not soak it or use salt, since water can work into its cleavage cracks.

Where is amazonite found in Colorado?

Amazonite is found in Colorado in the Pikes Peak granite, especially around Crystal Peak and Lake George, west of Colorado Springs.

Does amazonite fade?

Amazonite is not known to fade in normal room light, but high heat bleaches its color.

Why is it called amazonite?

It is called amazonite after the Amazon River, though no amazonite deposit is known there.

Sources

• Amazonite, Wikipedia
• Amazonite from Colorado, USA, Mindat
• Amazonite, Virginia Energy (Geology and Mineral Resources)