Amethyst, Dark, Natural, Fancy Faceted Cube Beads, One 6mm Strand

Amethyst, Natural, Faceted Cube Beads, 6mm. 

This price is for one strand 15 to 16 inches long. 

6mm cube bead strands about 40 pieces.

Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silicon and oxygen atoms. Quartz is the second most abundant mineral in Earth's continental crust, behind feldspar.

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz which is is transparent to translucent. It owes its violet color to natural irradiation, impurities of iron and in some cases other metals or trace elements.  Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light pinkish violet color to a deep purple color. 

The name comes from the Greek amethystos from "not" and methyo for "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness.   

The major sources of Amethyst are from Brazil as geodes within volcanic rocks, Uruguay, South Korea, China, Russia, United States, and South India. Zambia is one of the largest global amethyst producers.

Amethyst is the state gemstone of South Carolina.

Hardness 7

 This is a natural stone that has had no treatment other than cutting, drilling, and polishing in China.