What is Ametrine?
Discovered only at the Anahi Mine in Bolivia comes a gemstone with a beautiful split personality.
Ametrine is possibly one of the most interesting and beautiful gemstones to become available on the global gem market during recent years.
Currently only found at the Anahi Mine in Eastern Bolivia, it is a fusion of the gorgeous regal purple of Amethyst and the warm sunshine hue of Citrine, beautifully combined in one stone. In the gem industry, Ametrine also goes by the name of Bolivianite, due the location of its source.
Ametrine’s bi-coloured effect is uniquely created due to differing temperatures across the gem during its crystal formation. The area with the highest temperature forms golden Citrine yellows and the cooler zone forms lilac Amethyst colours. However, this one-off occurrence was a tough trick for Mother Nature to perform, because if too much heat had been applied the entire gem would have become a Citrine.
Many gemstone dealers have tried to emulate this balancing act by heating one end of an Amethyst. However they are all said to have failed as the heat travels too fast through the gem, making it all turn to Citrine. Cutting the rough of Ametrine is such an important task because it can make or break the beauty of the gem. Usually the lapidarist (a person who cuts and facets gemstones) will cut the gem into longer shapes so as to draw the eye’s attention to its unique bi-colours. The gem looks gorgeous in baguette, emerald and octagon cuts.
Many crystal healers believe that Ametrine holds the same metaphysical properties as both Amethyst and Citrine. It will help guide you through meditation, relieves the stress and strain of everyday life and helps to remove negative emotions and prejudices.
During the last 30 years, the gem trade has favoured Ametrine where the split has been 50/50. Only when there was an equal proportion of Amethyst to Citrine were the prices inflated. Today, in a world where individualism is more prevalent than conformism (we no longer all wear the same branded jumper with the big logo on the front as we did in the ‘80s) the old rules of the 50/50 split have disappeared. Now, we consider the vividness of the colour, the clarity of the Ametrine, the cut of the gem more importantly than the percentage of each colour.
More recently, lapidarists have been cutting Ametrine and deliberately selecting areas where the chocolate wrapper purple of the Amethyst portion swirls, wraps and carelessly merges with the sunflower yellows of the Citrine portion. In Hong Kong where a lot of Ametrine is cut and faceted, they have even invented a new name for this style: “Sunburst Ametrine”.
