Color Me Purple Part 3: Purple Gems in General Quiz

Answer: Tanzanite

Tanzanite, as its name suggests, is native to Tanzania and is only found within a small mining area near the Merelani Hills. It was given its name by Tiffany's, who introduced it to the jewellery market in 1968, as 'tanzanite' sounded more snappy than its original name of 'blue-violet zoisite'. It gets its blue-violet colour from small amounts of vanadium. In 2002, the American Gem Trade Association chose it as a birthstone for December, an honour which it shares with turquoise and zircon.

Question by Kankurette, Quiz Expert.

Answer: Amethyst

The name amethyst is a derivation of 'amethustos', an ancient Greek word that simply means 'sober'. It was believed that amethyst prevented a person from becoming drunk, if drinking from a cup or goblet made entirely of the crystal. Greek mythology actually describes amethyst as rock crystal dyed purple by the tears of Dionysus, the God of wine.

Ancient Egyptians held similar beliefs. They adopted amethyst as being representative of the zodiac sign of the goat, and as the goat was a most unwelcome intruder into vineyards, it was considered the ideal antidote of wine and drunkenness.

Question by moonraker2, amazing creator of many crossword gems.

Answer: Spinel

Taaffeite was named after Richard Taaffe, the man who discovered it in a jewellery shop in Dublin, Ireland, where he, too, thought he'd purchased a spinel. On taking the cut and polished gem home, along with several other gems he'd purchased, however, Taaffe noticed there were some difference between it and his spinels. Upon having it analysed by experts later that year (1945) it was written up in "Gemologist", a science magazine dealing with gemstones. Further tests in 1951 revealed that this stone was unique indeed. Today taaffeite is classed as one of the rarest gemstones in the world, hugely expensive - and the first gemstone to be identified only after it had been cut and polished.

The reference to the yarn maker refers to the old spinning wheels of long ago, on which people worked to spin threads from wool.

Question by Creedy, Author's Challenge Quiz Writer.

Answer: Bolivia

As its name suggests, ametrine is a naturally-occurring mixture of two varieties of quartz - amethyst (purple) and citrine (yellow). The combination of these two contrasting colours is unique to each gem. As all commercially available ametrine comes from the Anahi mine in Bolivia, the gem also goes by the trade name bolivianite. According to a legend, Anahi was a a princess from the native Ayoreos tribe who married a Spanish conquistador, who received the mine as a dowry, and introduced the gemstone to Europe. Ametrine is also produced artificially by heating or irradiating quartz crystals.

None of the South American countries listed as incorrect answers is landlocked.

Question by LadyNym, conqueror of Geography Mashes.

Answer: Jadeite

Research done by Alexis Damour, a French mineralogist, showed that jade was two different minerals. Jadeite can come in the colors of grey, pink, lavender, orange or brown and is rarer than nephrite.

Many cultures value jade, and not just because of its beauty. The Chinese believe that it has healing powers. The Maori people of New Zealand created ancestral pendants called hei-tiki to protect their families.

Question by mlcmlc, keeper of the all-important Task Tracking Thread.

Answer: United States

Tourmaline stones come in a variety of colors, though the most recognizable are the deep reds, pinks and purples.

Tourmaline stones were produced in both Maine and California to a large quantity.
The Maine mines were known for raspberry pink-red as well as minty green colored stones, while the California deposits are known for pink, purple and bicolored stones.
Native Americans used tourmaline stones for art and craft projects for centuries.

Question by Shadowmyst2004, Master of Quizzes.

Answer: From the mineralogist George Kunz

George Frederick Kunz (1856-1932) was born in New York City and was interested in rocks and minerals from a very early age. His expertise landed him a job with the jewelers Tiffany & Co. and by the age of 23 he had earned a vice president's title. In 1902 he identified a purple or lilac variety of the mineral spondumene, and the new variety was named Kunzite in his honour. Although first found in the USA, kunzite can also be found in Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. As a gemstone it is prized for its clarity and the occasional property of displaying two colours depending on the angle of viewing.

Question by spanishliz, Crossword Editor par excellence.

Answer: Sapphire

Corundum is an extremely hard mineral found in transparent form in many beautiful colors including red (ruby) and blue (sapphire). Sapphires in hues other than blue are called "fancy sapphires". The presence of vanadium will color sapphire from a pale lavender to a deep violet to a purplish-pink to a rich purple. Violet or purple can also exist as secondary hues in blue sapphires, but any higher than 15% and they are classified fancy. If a sapphire also contains an imperfection called an asterism, it's a "star sapphire" and can fetch a pretty penny, and star sapphires regularly come in purplish-pink, violet, or lavender. Sri Lanka and Madagascar are the main source of lavender and violet sapphires, which resemble tanzanite, and purple sapphires, which resemble amethyst (and are rare). The purplish-pink variety is mined mostly in Madagascar.

Question written by gracious1, Obscurity Conqueror.

Answer: Alexandrite

Alexandrite is a form of chrysoberyl, which has three main varieties. Ordinary chrysoberyl is pale yellow-green in colour. Cymophane (also known as cat's eye) is two-toned--mostly gold but with a paler streak that makes a cut gem appear to resemble (you guessed it) a cat's eye. Alexandrite changes colour when viewed from different angles under polarised or partly-polarised light, due to its crystal structure: the same stone can seem to change through red, orange, yellow, and green. More strikingly, though, it looks green in daylight and red-purple in artificial light. This is because the colour an object appears is based on the colour of light it transmits. The alexandrite absorbs the central yellow portion of the light that falls on it; what is transmitted depends on the light source. Artificial lighting has a different balance of the spectral colors from that of daylight--exactly what depends on the type of lighting. In daylight, the balance makes it look green; under artificial lighting, the reddish purple colours take over.

Question by looney_tunes, multi-talented editor.

Answer: Russia

The Royal Purple Heart, which is actually both purple and roughly heart-shaped, was mined in Russia. It has a weight of 7.34 carats. Though the most common natural location of purple diamonds is Australia, purple diamonds have also been found in the Amazon (Brazil), Siberia (Russia), and Quebec (Canada). Artificial purple diamonds tend to have a more intense purple hue than natural purple diamonds.

Question by bernie73. Hey, who let this character in here?