Amazonite semiprecious gemstone index and mineral information

Amazonite is also called Amazon stone.  The name is derived from that of the Amazon River, from which certain green stones were formerly acquired, but it is doubtful whether green feldspar occurs in the Amazon area. Amazonite is one of the most common feldspar minerals. It can be colorless, white, and cream to pale yellow, salmon-pink to red and bright green to blue-green. Its color comes from tiny amounts of water and lead in the mineral’s structure.

Blue-green specimens of microcline are called Amazon stone or amazonite. The word microcline is derived from the Greek micro, meaning small, and klino, meaning lean. This variety if used in jewelry; generally it is cut into cabochons.   It was famously used by the ancient Egyptians for jewelry and ornamentation.

Ametrine is found in granite pegmatites and in metamorphic rocks such as schists and gneisses. The best quality of amazonite is found in the Ilmen and Ural Mountains of Russia, the Pikes Peak district of Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia and in Minas Gerais, Brazil, Madagascar, the Sahara Desert, Southern Africa and Tanzania.

Amazonite is sometimes confused with chrysoprase, jade, serpentine, and turquoise.

Mohs’ Hardness: 6 – 6.5