Stone Mania

Amazonite or Amazon Stone is an attractive blue green variety of the mineral Microcline whose colour is caused by Lead.  It is from the family known as Feldspar, an important group of minerals in rock formation which account for over half the Earth's crust.  Not particularly common, in the past it came almost exclusively from Miyask in the Ilmen mountains, not far from Chelyabinsk in Russia but more recently, Amazonite has been found in Colorado and a few other localities in the United States and also Madagascar.  Only the blue green varieties of Microcline are entitled to be called Amazonite.

Although its name comes from the Amazon river in Brazil, it is not actually found anywhere in this region and it's believed it was confused with another green mineral that was found in the area. 

Other sources include Canada, Namibia, Australia, Italy, Minas Gerais in Brazil and the Ural mountains of Russia.

In crystal healing, it allows you to see both sides of an argument and to reach your own conclusions.  It helps release fear and anxiety as well as negative energy blockages and brings luck to gamblers or anyone taking a chance in order to achieve success.  For those who are emotional, it can help regulate ups and downs hence enabling more balanced feelings.  It balances the yin yang and aligns the physical body with the etheric and also assists in maintaining optimum health.  It heals and opens both the heart and throat chakras to enhance loving communication and is particularly beneficial to musicians and writers.

During the late 1800's, Colorado became the most important mining source for the finest grade of Amazonite and it gradually replaced Russia as one of the world's leading suppliers.

Amazonite beads were found amongst other items dating back to the 5th millennium BC. and it's still a popular gemstone for use in jewellery today and is usually cut en cabochon.  The Ancient Egyptians used it for the carving of deities and it was also considered a catalyst between the living and the Gods.

Amazonite is graded 6 to 6.5 on Mohs scale of mineral hardness.

Our recommendation for further reading on Amazonite: 
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Our collection of Amazonite jewellery