Ametrine, Quartz, Heated, Smooth Rice Beads, One 5x8mm Strand

Quartz, Ametrine, Heated, Smooth Rice Beads, One 5x8mm Strand. 

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

5x8mm rice 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.

Ametrine, is a naturally occurring variety of quartz. It is a mixture of amethyst and citrine with zones of purple and yellow or orange. These colors have different origins. Some are due to changes brought about by exposure to naturally occurring gamma rays and some are due to minor differences in the chemical composition. Almost all commercially available Ametrine is mined in Bolivia.

Legend has it that ametrine was first introduced to Europe by a conquistador's gifts to the Spanish Queen in the 1600s, after he received a mine in Bolivia.

Hardness 7

Ametrine is a mixture of portion amethyst and citrine and is made by heating an amethyst until it turns into citrine. Then irradiating a part of the resulting crystal or gemstone to convert that portion back to amethyst.

The source of these beads is Brazil and they are cut, drilled and polished in China.