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Amethyst |
Amethyst Rough |
Bi-Color Amethyst |
Amethyst Crystal |
Amethyst's intense color and relative availability
have ensured its popularity throughout the millennia. Amethyst has been
popular as a gem since Pre-Roman times. The wine-loving Greeks even believed
amethyst gems could prevent intoxication while medieval European soldiers
wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle. Most of the high-grade
amethyst mined today comes from Uruguay, southern Brazil and Africa.
Amethyst is actually a form of Quartz - one of the most common 2substances
on earth. Tiny amounts of iron and aluminum turn ordinary clear quartz into
amethyst. All forms of quartz (including amethyst) are piezoelectric, making
for important applications in electronics. Tourmaline is the only other
gemstone that possesses this property.
Amethyst ranges from pale to dark violet. The finest qualities of amethyst
are a medium dark violet with a strong secondary red color. Darker shades
of amethyst may display slight color fluctuations under different light
sources.
Amethyst of all qualities is available in all sizes and shapes. Light
amethyst will be very low in per carat prices while even the finest qualities
are still very reasonably priced.
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