Quartz var. Amethyst

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Much rarer than Smoky Quartz, the alpine Amethysts have always been extremely desirable to collectors. Known for centuries, the Binn Valley in Wallis, Switzerland has several important sources of Amethyst crystals, but most are in remote mountainous parts. This wonderful doubly-terminated crystal/parallel crystal group is an old one, accompanied by a late 19th century handwritten German label, and is provenanced simply to "Binnenthal". At 7.8 cm in length, the group of parallel crystals is not only a very good size, but the crystals are fairly glassy and transition from pale Smoky Quartz in the centre, outwards to pale purple tips. There is some minor chipping to the tips of the crystals, but overall this is an very fine group for its age, with some nice recessed 'skeletal' openings developed into a couple of the crystals. A really lovely 'alpine' Amethyst. It is from the superb collection assembled by the brothers Martin and Michael Günther (1951-2007 & 1956-2021). It should be noted that the accompanying old label is now creased and slightly torn in two places.