Amethyst

Last Summer, we bought this crystal-growing kit in Oxfam. It contains ingredients and instructions to grow several types of crystals. Those nicknamed “quartz” and “emerald” in fact are monoammonium phosphate, NH₄H₂PO₄, while “amethyst” and “fluorite” are grown from a solution of potassium aluminium sulphate, KAl(SO₄)₂. Our latest experiment was to grow an “amethyst” crystal cluster. Timur and I prepared the solution, poured it over two stones from our garden and left to grow for a week. Here’s the result.