Nothing tickles our fancy more than pale gems with just the slightest hint of color. There’s something so perfectly subtle about them, as if they barely whisper, the wisp of unspoken words or romantic thoughts blowing in a light breeze.
Prasiolite is a green variety of quartz, a silicate mineral chemically silicon dioxide. Since 1950, almost all natural prasiolite has come from a small Brazilian mine though its also since been mined in Lower Silesia in Poland. Naturally occurring prasiolite has also been found in the Thunder Bay area of Canada.
Green quartz is often incorrectly called green amethyst. It is against the Federal Trade Commission Guidelines to call prasiolite “green amethyst.” Other names for green quartz are vermarine, greened amethyst or lime citrine.
The word prasiolite literally means “scallion green-colored stone” and is derived from Greek.