Content area
Full Text
The beautiful amethyst crystals and crystal clusters from the Las Vigas region in the state of Veracruz, Mexico, first appeared on the mineral market nearly 50 years ago. This prolific occurrence has provided collections worldwide with specimens of extraordinary beauty. The crystals are notable not for their remarkable size-like some amethyst specimens from Uruguay and Brazil-but for the fine development of the. crystals, dominated by prism faces, for their rich violet color, often becoming deeper near the termination, and for the often aesthetic grouping of the crystals in clusters and on matrix.
INTRODUCTION
The locality designation for the wonderful Las Vigas amethysts was originally given simply as "Mexico," and later "Veracruz," eventually supplemented at last with the regional name "Las Vigas." A glance at the map shows that Las Vigas lies along Route 140, about 30 kilometers northwest of Jalapa, the capital city of Veracruz State. To reach the collecting area from Las Vigas village it is necessary to proceed north on foot, or to take a 6-hour mule ride, for about 15 km to the tiny settlement of Piedra Parada. There, in the surrounding steep valleys, are the amethyst prospects and diggings, many of them too modest to be formally designated as "mines."
The hilly terrain, from 2,000 to 3,000 meters above sea level, is characterized by deeply cut canyons which dissect the foothills of the eastern Sierra Madre. Just 50 km to the south lies Orizaba Peak, a volcano 5,800 meters high. In the higher reaches, conifers grow; lower down there are mixed-growth forests; and on the valley floors there is tropical vegetation. The population of the area is sparse, and many of the inhabitants live by agriculture, their main crop being corn. In neighboring areas one sees poppy fields-and it is well known that foreigners are best advised to avoid these places. A few years ago the Las Vigas region was renamed "Professor Rafael Ramirez," and the town became "Las Vigas de Ramirez," after a famous scholar born in Las Vigas who died in 1959 in Mexico City.
HISTORY
The Ontiveros Family and Las Vigas
Retired El Paso mineral dealer Manuel Ontiveros, now 80 years old, remembers when Las Vigas amethyst first began to reach the specimen market nearly half a...