Purple is considered a royal color. Because of that, fine amethyst are found in the Royal Jewel. Ancient Greeks also believed that amethysts could prevent intoxication, but I bet they never had martinis ;-)
Amethyst is a member of the quartz family.
There is a green variety of quartz that is incorrectly referred to as green amethyst but since true amethyst is defined by its purple color, it cannot be considered amethyst.
Amethyst ranks a 7 on the Mohs scale http://www.gildedlane.com/2014/02/what-is-mohs-scale.html and if worn in jewelry should be worn very carefully as they can scratch/chip easily.
Amethyst is considered semi-precious and is readily available in many pre-made peices. The cost to synthesize it for jewelry is too high so more than likely if you purchase any pre-made amethyst jewelry in a store, you are getting real amethyst.
Amethyst and citrine are very closely related. In fact, some lighter colored amethyst is heated to produce heated golden citrine.
Amethyst's colors range from purple, violet to pale red-violet. The deep colors are the most valuable, particularly a rich purple with rose flashes. "Siberian" deep purple amethyst with red and blue flash command the highest prices.
I have a few amethyst pieces myself. They're not "ideal" or "top" color, but they're some of my favorites because they were given to me by my husband. I thought I'd lost my necklace for about a year and found it hidden in an old purse (apparently I really like stuffing things in purse pockets). Happy birthday to all February babies out there and I hope you have a wonderful year.
No comments:
Post a Comment