Difference Between Lepidolite and Amethyst (With Table) 

Lepidolite is praised wide and far for its miraculous properties of mood-stabilizing. This crystal comprises a high lithium percentage which is often used in treatments related to anti-anxiety. This crystal is brittle and soft and can therefore only be shaped and cut found inside a larger quartz body.   

Amethyst after purple gem is the world’s most sought and has been in usage for approx over 2000 years. In the new age, it is a famous gem due to its affordability, attractive colors, and good durability. As per astrology, amethyst is an astrological alternative to blue sapphire. 

Comparison Table Between Lepidolite and Amethyst 

What is Lepidolite? 

Lepidolite is a rose or lilac-gray-colored member of the mica’s mineral group. It is the most abundant mineral-bearing lithium and also this metal’s secondary source. It is a mineral of phyllosilicate and polylithionite trilithionite series’ member. It is a part of three-part series comprising lepidolite and polylithionite.  

All three minerals generally share similar properties and are generally caused due to aluminum and lithium’s varying ratios in their chemical formulas. Lepidolite is found naturally in a range of colors like red, purple, and pink but also gray and colorless and yellow rarely.  

Lepidolite is a lithium-bearing mica and that’s why it is wrongly assumed often that lithium is what leads to the pink hues that are so mineral’s characteristics. Instead, it is a trace, manganese amounts that lead to red, purple, and pink colors. It is linked with other minerals bearing such as spodumene in pegmatite bodies.  

In 1861, Gustav Kirchhoff and Robert Bunsen extracted 150 kg of lepidolite and also yielded a rubidium’s few grams salts for analysis and as a result, discovered the new element rubidium. It generally occurs in granite pegmatites mainly in some granite granites, Greisens, and quartz vein’s high temperature. 

What is Amethyst? 

Amethyst is a violet quartz variety. Amethyst was worn by ancient Greeks and carved vessels for drinking from it in the belief to prevent intoxication. It owes its violet color due to iron’s impurities, irradiation, and other elements’ presence which result in substitutions of the complex crystal lattice.  

The amethyst’s meaning varies from culture and time to time, which is why amethyst has distinctive meanings in Feng Shui and also focuses on wealth boost. In ancient China, amethyst is used as a powerful tool to drive away from daily life’s hazards and negative energies removing.  

Synthetic or simply laboratory-grown amethyst is manufactured by a synthesis method known as hydrothermal growth and inside a high-pressure autoclave, the crystals grow. It is made to imitate the amethyst’s best quality. With absolute certainty, it fails to differentiate without advanced gemological testing.  

The gem amethyst’s suitable setting is a bezel or prong setting. The method of the channel is used with caution. It has good hardness and with proper care, handling prevents any stone’s damage. Amethyst might change or lose its color with exposure to prolonged light or heat. 

Main Differences Between Lepidolite and Amethyst

1. When it comes to the formation, the formation of lepidolite occurs mainly in granite pegmatites, in high-temperature granites, Greisens, and quartz veins. In contrast, the formation of amethyst occurs inside volcanic rocks, and rocks act as vessels that comprise water and minerals over time.  
2. Lepidolite can be found in many countries like Manitoba, Brazil, Honshu, Madagascar, and many more. On the other hand, Uruguay and Brazil are two of the countries where notable occurrences of amethyst have been found.  
3. Lepidolite as a material can be used to produce many things like tumbled stones, cabochons, ornamental items, and many more. On the flip side, the amethyst can be used as faceted stones, beads, ornamental objects, etc.  
4. In terms of cleavage, it can be described as a molecule’s covalent bond breakage leading to the smaller molecule’s formation. The lepidolite offers perfect cleavage. On the contrary, there is no cleavage in amethyst and that’s why it breaks along the conchoidal fracture.  
5. The benefits of using lepidolite are breaking harmful psychologic patterns, releasing stagnant negative energies, assisting in addiction treatment, and many more. Meanwhile, immune system enhancement, headaches reduction, digestive health promotion are some of the benefits of amethyst. 

Conclusion 

It can be concluded that both lepidolite and amethyst believe to release blocked energy, boost low energy, transform a body’s aura and prevent bad energy. When it comes to color, the lepidolite color ranges from purple to pink. On the contrary, the color of amethyst ranges from pale lilac to deep reddish-purple. The system of lepidolite is mainly monoclinic. Meanwhile, the crystal system of amethyst is mainly hexagonal.  

In terms of the luster from pearly to vitreous is the luster of lepidolite, whereas vitreous is the luster of amethyst. 2.5 to 3.5 is the rate of lepidolite on the Mohs hardness scale. In contrast, 7 is the amethyst rate on the Mohs hardness scale. White to colorless is the mineral powder color of lepidolite. Conversely, colorless is the mineral powder color of amethyst. 

References  

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304386X1200031X
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030645491000304X