White Amethyst?

I have a question about white amethyst - like this - is it regular purple amethyst that has lost its color? I've heard that amethyst that is exposed to sunlight can fade.

Or is there some amethyst that is naturally white?

Amethyst is simply quartz with some mineral impurities that cause the purple color. So "white amethyst" is simply clear or white quartz.

This is a case of somebody making up a label for marketing purposes. Happens all the time in the gem and bead worlds.

That may explain why I had never heard of it before.

When amethyst fades, does it remain slightly purple? I tried to find pics of faded amethyst and didn't come up a solid answer. I'm tempted to put one of mine in the sun and see what happens.

Amethyst exposed to direct sunlight will *eventually* lose its purple color, but it takes a while -- several months in strong sunlight, many years for a piece of jewelry worn daily. As it fades, it will look lighter and lighter purple until, eventually, it's just grayish. But, as I said, that will take a while.

Here's a link to a decent article: http://www.mindat.org/article.php/905/Amethyst+Specimens

The fading has to do with the instability of the iron impurities that cause the purple color.

Amethyst and citrine are both varieties of quartz with different mineral impurities. Most of the citrine for sale now is actually low-grade amethyst that has been treated.

Thank you for the article, that looks like an interesting read. Appropriate author name, too (Rock)

I knew that about citrine. Unfortunately some sellers are unscrupulous, and others misinformed.

Laura Borealis said:

I knew that about citrine. Unfortunately some sellers are unscrupulous, and others misinformed.

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So true! Very sad.