Is Green Amethyst a treated stone?
While a few sources of naturally-occurring green amethyst do exist, you can assume that the green amethyst in your jewelry box or the jeweler’s shop window is a special variety of purple amethyst which has been treated to change its color. The most common method of producing greened amethyst is by heat treating. In recent years, inexpensive prasiolite which has been artifically produced by irradiation of quartz has appeared on the wholesale market. Irradiated minerals are safe for the consumer (no radiation remains on the stone), however it is not considered a “correct” form of the gem. Irradiated quartz is cheaper than genuine prasiolite. A gemologist or jeweler can tell the difference between heat treated and irradiated stones.
