Amethyst is best known as a purple, transparent, faceted gem that is sold by the carat. However, most of the world’s amethyst production is commercial products that are sold by the pound, kilogram or ton. These include amethyst geodes, amethyst crystal plates, amethyst crystals and amethyst tumbled stones.

The amethyst geode market is very strong, with many tons of them being sold at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show alone. Small amethyst geodes are one of the most ubiquitous geological items offered for sale. They can be found at gem shows, rock shops, metaphysical stores, and novelty shops around the world.

The geodes can be small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, or enormous sections of lava tubes that can be several meters long and weigh several tons. People buy them for home decor, mineral collections, and metaphysical use or just because they like them.

The United States Geological Survey has estimated the world’s commercial amethyst production between 2006 and 2016. Bolivia, Brazil, Tanzania, Uruguay and Zambia were the countries with the highest production. Statistics on their production are shown in the accompanying table.