How to get amethyst cluster in Minecraft

In Minecraft, there is a new item that was added in the 1.17 Caves & Cliffs update: amethyst.

Amethyst is a block that generates underground and has only a few uses right now. Amethyst buds are the first three growth stages for this block and amethyst clusters are the fourth and final stage.

Amethyst is a useful block for building and crafting recipes. It's necessary to make spyglasses, which are one of the best new items included in the update.Amethyst buds won't produce anything, however, so Minecraft players need to wait for them to become amethyst clusters before trying to use them.

Here's how to do just that.

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Finding and harvesting amethyst clusters in Minecraft

Amethyst will spawn underground in geodes. Geodes can spawn at all different levels, going as high as Y level 70. Geodes can be spotted by examining the surrounding blocks. The amethyst is inside and usually not seen, though sometimes the random generation will make it slightly visible from above.

There are three stages of amethyst buds and one of amethyst clusters (Image via Minecraft)

The amethyst will be surrounded by a shell of calcite, which is further ensconced in a shell of smooth basalt. If Minecraft players come across these blocks, it's a geode and there will be amethyst inside. Not all amethyst blocks produce something, though.

Amethyst clusters will produce amethyst shards and amethyst buds won't produce anything, so players need to find full clusters if they want amethyst shards. The shards are what is useful for crafting.

Players typically mine these with a pickaxe. An amethyst cluster mined using a non-Silk Touch, non-Fortune enchanted pickaxe, will drop four amethyst shards. When mined using any other tool, item, or mechanism (like a piston), it will drop two shards.

These can then be used in crafting recipes. Four of them will make an amethyst block. One, with two copper ingots, makes a spyglass. Four shards and a glass block will make a tinted glass block. There are currently no other crafting recipes that use amethyst shards, but more may be added in future updates.