Topic of the Month: The February Birthstone - Amethyst

This month is the month of Valentine's Day, and it also the month of the gemstone amethyst. It is said that the patron saint of Valentine's Day, St. Valentine, wore an amethyst ring with an image of cupid carved into it. 

Amethyst actually comes from the quartz mineral family, being the purple stone from that family. While there are other purple gems, amethyst is the gem most commonly thought of with the color purple. The hue of the purple color can vary, with cooler shades looking more blueish, all the way to reddish looking purples. It can be a deep, royal purple, or a light violet shade. Amethyst also exhibits what is referred to as color zoning, where different angled zones of the stone show darker and lighter colors. Altogether, it can come in many different shades! 

Early Greek legends thought of Amethyst, because of its wine-like color, as being connected with Bacchus, the god of wine. There were other legends that illustrated the belief that amethyst would give the wearer clarity of mind, and quick-wittedness in battle and in business. Furthermore, because of amethyst's association with wine, it was also believed that wearing amethyst would prevent you from getting drunk. Imagine that! Amethyst also has a history of being an expensive stone, as it was just as expensive as ruby and emerald were until the 19th century, when large deposits where discovered in Brazil. Today, as the most valuable of the quartz family, it is a sought after stone for high end designer items, as well as more mass market mainstream items. Fine quality amethysts have been used in religious jewelry and royal crowns for many years as well. Again, there was a time when amethyst was considered to be of equal value to precious stones like ruby, emerald, and sapphire.

Amethyst comes from a few different places around the world, including Arizona, Brazil, Uruguay, and Zambia. Bolivia has an interesting phenomenon where amethyst and citrine naturally occur in the same crystal. This unique formation is known as ametrine, and they are half purple and half yellow. 

There's some broad overview information about amethyst. Amethyst is a great stone because of its beauty and affordability combined, and it has a rich history.   

To read more in depth, check out this source we used:

https://www.gia.edu/amethyst