Green Sugar Amethyst with Pyrite – Los Catalanes, Uruguay – 113 g

An unusual Green Sugar Amethyst specimen from Los Catalanes, Uruguay, featuring a softly colored mint-green formation covered with sparkling microcrystalline quartz and scattered metallic pyrite inclusions. The combination creates a highly distinctive surface where frosted sugar-like crystallization is punctuated by tiny flashes of warm metallic gold.

The specimen’s green coloration ranges from pale sage and seafoam to a more saturated aqua-green across the smoother botryoidal section near the base. Overlapping rounded formations rise through the center, creating natural valleys and recessed areas that add excellent depth. Fine druzy crystals cover much of the surface, producing a bright granular sparkle under direct lighting.

Numerous small pyrite crystals are distributed across the green formation. These metallic inclusions appear as naturally scattered gold and dark-brassy points rather than one concentrated cluster, rewarding close inspection and macro viewing. Their reflective luster provides a striking contrast against the specimen’s soft pastel coloration.

The reverse reveals the geological structure beneath the display face, including pale chalcedony, darker host matrix, and a thin yellow-brown mineralized boundary. This exposed cross-section provides an excellent look at the layered formation of the specimen and helps distinguish the green chalcedony-rich base from the druzy crystal surface.

Mounted upright on a fitted black display base, this compact specimen presents well from several viewing angles and offers a rare combination of pastel green color, sugar-druzy texture, botryoidal form, and metallic pyrite.

Details

• Material: Green sugar amethyst and microcrystalline quartz with pyrite
• Origin: Los Catalanes, Artigas Department, Uruguay
• Weight: 113 grams
• Dimensions: Approximately 2 × 2 × 2.5 inches
• Color: Mint green, seafoam, pale sage, white, cream, and metallic gold
• Formation: Druzy microcrystals over rounded and botryoidal formations
• Luster: Sparkling vitreous quartz with metallic pyrite reflections
• Display: Mounted on a fitted black display base
• Reverse: Exposed chalcedony and natural host-matrix cross-section
• Condition: Natural mineral specimen with inherent contacts and irregularities
• Notes: Exact specimen shown

Mineralogical Notes

“Sugar amethyst” is a collector and trade term used for quartz or amethyst formations covered with dense, fine crystals resembling granulated sugar. Each tiny crystal face reflects light independently, creating the glittering appearance visible across this specimen.

The green coloration appears to originate primarily from the underlying chalcedony-rich formation and associated mineral inclusions rather than from conventional purple amethyst coloration. Fine quartz crystallization developed over the rounded surface, while small pyrite crystals formed as scattered metallic inclusions throughout the druzy layer.

The Los Catalanes region of Uruguay is part of the mineral-rich basalt fields of Artigas Department. These deposits formed when silica-rich fluids entered cavities in ancient volcanic rock, gradually depositing layers of chalcedony and crystalline quartz. Variations in trace minerals and growth conditions can produce the unusual colors, textures, and secondary mineral associations seen in this piece.

Color and metallic reflections may vary with lighting, viewing angle, and screen settings. Macro photographs are included to show the fine druzy texture and scattered pyrite inclusions.

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You will receive the exact specimen shown.
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