Catalogue information
Amazonite, sometimes referred to as Amazon rock, is a green variety of microcline feldspar. The name comes from the Amazon River, from which a certain type of green stones were formerly extracted, but it is doubtful whether green feldspar also occurs in the Amazon region. Amazonite is limited. It used to be mined almost exclusively from the Russian town of Miass in the Ilmenberg Mountains in the Southern Urals, where it occurs in granite rocks. More recently, crystals were also found in Pikes Peak, Colorado, where it is located in complexes with smoky quartz, orthoclase and albite in rough granite or pegmatite. Several other locations in the United States including the Crystal Peak in the same Colorado also contain layers of amazonite, and in Madagascar, amazonite has also been found in pegmatite layers. Because of the bright green color that the mineral can acquire through polishing, amazonite is sometimes also chopped up and used as a gemstone, although it can easily break. For a long time people have wondered where the green color of amazonite comes from. Many believed that the color was caused by copper, as copper deposits often have blue and green colors. However, recent studies indicate that the blue-green color is the result of small amounts of lead and water in the feldspar
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