A statement plate with flower formations across the top section, purple running through green.
The flowers are rosettes, and they form when crystals grow outward from a single point rather than upward from a flat surface. Something small gets the growth started, a speck of grit or a break in the cavity wall, and quartz builds away from it in every available direction at once. The result radiates, which is why it reads as a flower rather than as a field of points.
They are not common on a plate this size. Most of a geode wall grows evenly, so the crystals line up and the surface comes out uniform. Rosettes need irregularity to start with, and then need to survive everything that grows afterwards without being buried.
Keep it out of direct sunlight. Sustained UV breaks down the iron centres that produce the purple, and amethyst that fades does not come back.
Mineral: Amethyst, the purple variety of quartz (SiO₂), with celadonite
Crystal system: Trigonal
Origin: Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Hardness: 7 on the Mohs scale; hard, though fine druzy points chip easily
Treatment: None
Dimensions: 20.5 x 10.5 x 34 cm
Weight: 3.135 kg Note: Supplied on a bespoke gold stand
You will receive the exact piece photographed.