I love this recent question I received recently about crystals fading in the sunlight. It covered many angles. LURVE IT! It’s a loaded question and — right up my geo-geek ally!

Q: You mentioned not to put certain crystals that are very strongly pigmented in the sun, because they fade. Why does the pigment fade in the sun, and how does that affect the crystal if it does fade? Is the pigment related to the quantity of the mineral inside the crystal? And if so would the difference in pigment in a crystal affect how well it performs? i.e. If I get a piece of amethyst that is only lightly pigmented, does that mean a heavier pigmented amethyst would outperform the lighter one (i.e. it is of better quality?)

A:

Well, why some colors fade really has to do with photon physics or particle physics. Oh yeah! I said “PHYSICS” …and you’re gonna like it!

First, let’s simply explain what a photon is.

When an electron in an atom has either increased or decreased in … Read More