Amethyst

Amethyst is actually a form of quartz except that its colour is a slightly transparent purple. There is no agreement on what causes the colour purple but it might be due to traces of manganese in it. Preferred amethyst stones are those with deep-grape purple with secondary hues of red and blue. Modern chemistry has determined that is colour is due to the presence of minute iron impurities caused by a complex combination of both iron and aluminum.

Amethyst Stones

Early Greeks and Romans believed that amethyst can help prevent intoxication because it violet colour is very similar to most wines. Medieval European soldiers wore them as amulets as protection in battle. This might be due to its hardness which makes an amethyst gemstone suitable for jewellery making. It changes its colour to yellow when super heated and can also be made synthetically. It has a high index of refraction which is what makes it very scintillating. Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February.

Amethyst Earings

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