Amethyst Genuine - Améthyste Véritable (Primatek)

"Oh my goodness-it's beautiful!" exclaimed one of our testers. And it is. Amethyst Genuine is a rich, true purple-it's almost black in masstone and capable of infinite gradation. Although it is a granulating colour, it can also make lovely, clear washes.

• Pigment name: Amethyst Genuine - Améthyste Véritable (Primatek)
• Lightfastness: 1 - Excellent
• Transparency: Semi-transparent
• Granulating: Yes
• Staining: Low
• Series: 4

The DANIEL SMITH PrimaTeks are gorgeous watercolours that mix beautifully with other colours. Since their introduction, artists worldwide have been thrilled to paint with these unique mineral watercolours, and you will be, too!

What are PrimaTek Watercolours?

DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek watercolours are unique paints made with mineral pigments; many of these are semi-precious minerals mined from the earth, ground finely, and turned into the beautiful PrimaTek watercolours for artists everywhere!

There are 37 exclusive DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours made from minerals such as amethyst, bloodstone, and jadeite. The raw mineral specimens DANIEL SMITH finds worldwide are ground into pigments, mixed with gum arabic, and milled to create those gorgeous watercolour paints! Nearly all PrimaTeks have granulating properties, giving the watercolours wonderful texture and depth, which some artists have described as "magical."

People have been making paints with earth mineral pigments like ochre in yellows, reds, and browns for thousands of years. While many natural pigments lean towards the "earthy" colours like the ochres we know, some are unique to DANIEL SMITH, such as Hematite Genuine, Bloodstone Genuine, and Tiger's Eye Genuine. The "Genuine" after the mineral name for the watercolour usually indicates that the paint colour is derived solely from that particular mineral pigment. When made into paints, nearly all these minerals exhibit beautiful granulation, giving artists extra painting effects. A few possess a hint of sparkle or sheen from the crushed crystals, such as Amethyst, Kyanite, Red Fuchsite, Sugilite, and both Bronzite and Burnt Bronzite Genuine watercolours.

Many DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours are made from minerals that produce vibrant, luminous colours, such as Amethyst Genuine, Serpentine Genuine, and Rhodonite Genuine. Most artists are surprised that "rocks" can yield such brilliant colours in watercolours!

DANIEL SMITH has a mineralogist who, like Indiana Jones, searches the world, sometimes in remote locations, for minerals with the potential to become DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek Watercolours. Once he finds the raw mineral, the DANIEL SMITH chemist rigorously tests it for colour capacity and reliability, including how the mineral performs as a paint, its lightfastness, and more. Once a mineral proves itself to meet DANIEL SMITH's high standards and artists' expectations, it is made into a watercolour that will delight artists everywhere.

DANIEL SMITH breaks down the minerals from large rocks called "massives" into smaller rocks to make the minerals into watercolours. They then continue breaking them down and removing impurities until the minerals are eventually ground into pigments. Once the pigments are ready, the DANIEL SMITH manufacturing team mixes them with gum arabic; the mixture is then put on a 3-roll mill and, after a period of time and testing, is made into DANIEL SMITH PrimaTek watercolours. The milling process for each watercolour is specific to that particular mineral pigment; if you mill (or grind) the minerals too small, the colour becomes dull.

The key is to ensure that each mineral pigment's particle size is large enough to refract the most light for the best colour and small enough to paint as watercolour. Every batch of watercolour is tested to meet DANIEL SMITH's standards for that particular watercolour, and the tests are maintained to ensure the colour consistency artists expect.