Amethyst Shard

The Amethyst Shard is an important item in Minecraft, added in the 1.17 Caves & Cliffs update. It is not crafted but rather obtained by finding and gathering Amethyst Clusters in the world. Amethyst Clusters grow on Budding Amethyst within Amethyst Geodes and have four growth stages: Small Amethyst Bud, Medium Amethyst Bud, Large Amethyst Bud, and Amethyst Cluster. Only fully grown Amethyst Clusters drop Amethyst Shards when mined. Mining an Amethyst Cluster with a non-enchanted pickaxe yields 4 shards, while using other tools or mechanisms (like explosions or pistons) yields only 2 shards. The Fortune enchantment on a pickaxe can increase the number of shards dropped, up to an average of 8.8. Amethyst Shards can also be found in chests within ancient cities and trial chambers. These shards are used to craft various items, including Spyglasses and Tinted Glass. Furthermore, giving an Amethyst Shard to a dancing Allay will cause it to consume the shard and duplicate into another Allay. It’s important to note that Amethyst Clusters grow on Budding Amethyst, and mining a cluster at any stage with a Silk Touch pickaxe will drop the cluster itself rather than Amethyst Shards.