Amethyst clusters grow in four stages on the budding amethyst blocks that form the inner shell of geode structures generated underground. The stages are small bud, medium bud, large bud, and full cluster. Only the full cluster drops amethyst shards — earlier stages drop nothing or one shard depending on Fortune enchantment level. A Silk Touch pickaxe collects the cluster intact as a placeable block.

Each cluster emits a light level of 5 and produces a soft chime when a player or projectile passes through it, making them audible sound sensors in compact builds. Budding amethyst is the only block that allows new buds to grow; clusters themselves cannot be moved by pistons or placed on any block other than a solid face.

Four amethyst shards craft one amethyst block for decoration, or combine with a copper ingot and glass pane to produce a spyglass. They are also required for tinted glass, which blocks light completely while remaining visually transparent. Geodes generate between Y -58 and Y 30, usually surrounded by calcite and smooth basalt shells.