In 1989 my father Bernard packed in his house painting business and set off for two years on a backpacking trek to the remotest corners of the world. Wise (2005), Secrets of the Gem Trade The Connoisseur's Guide to Precious Gemstones, Brunswick House Press, Lenox, Mass., ISBN 0-972

Earthsky: What’s the Birthstone for February?.

It is also popular in the form of geodes or druzes amongst gem collectors. Today, amethyst is considered to be a lovely and affordable gemstone, found in many different forms of modern adornment. However when sizeable but lower quality commercial deposits were discovered in Brazil and Uruguay in the 19th century, the value of the stone decreased accordingly. In fact up until the 18th century, amethyst was included in the cardinal (most valuable) gemstones along with diamond, sapphire, ruby and emerald. The colour purple is traditionally associated with royalty, and amethyst was therefore used to adorn the raiment and jewels of state of monarchs and rulers, particularly in Europe, as some of the finest deposits in the world were once found in Russia. Because amethyst was thought to encourage celibacy, it was used extensively for ornamentation by the Catholic church and often worn by bishops. Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that amethyst could dissipate evil thoughts and quicken the intelligence. In Arabic tradition, amethysts are believed to protect their wearers from bad dreams and gout. One of the two Saint Valentines is also said to have worn an amethyst engraved with the figure of Cupid. The Greeks and Romans believed it warded off drunkenness and they adorned their drinking cups liberally with amethysts, while medieval European soldiers wore amethyst amulets for protection in battle in the belief that they maintained cool-headedness. Its use can be traced back at least 25,000 years, when Paleolithic people in Europe first used it as a decorative stone.

Because its hardness is equivalent to quartz (second to diamond on the Mohrs Scale of Hardness at 9), it has remained a popular stone for jewellery making throughout the ages. The most ideal grade is called 'Deep Siberian' and has a primary purple hue of around 75–80%, with 25–20% blue and red secondary hues.Īmethyst has had a long an interesting association with humankind. Stones are graded using the terms Siberian, Uruguayan or Bahain to represent high, medium and low quality stones respectively, regardless of the actual source. The very popular cabochon cut is a forgiving cut for flawed or unevenly coloured stonesĪmethyst can range in colour from the lightest of violets to deep purple. Other cuts are used when the colour is better distributed, including the very popular cabochon. As a result, amethyst must be cut carefully and in a way that makes the tone of the finished gem appear constant, with the “brilliant round” most popularly used to maximise uneven colour.

The colour of amethyst is rarely constant throughout a single stone but is laid down in patches parallel to its crystal faces. The name originates from Greek and means “not intoxicated', a reference to the belief held by the ancient Greeks and Romans that the stone prevented drunkenness.Īmethyst owes its colour to iron impurities, the presence of various trace elements and irradiation. Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz (SiO 2).

Amethyst birthstone