Amethyst

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Amethyst
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Amethyst Story

• Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name
  comes from the Koine Greek aµ???st?? amethystos
  from a- a-, "not" and µe??s?? (Ancient Greek)
  methysko / µe?? metho (Modern Greek),
  "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the
  stone protected its owner from drunkenness. The
  ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved drinking
  vessels from it in the belief that it would
  prevent intoxication

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Structure

• Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz (SiO2) and
  owes its violet color to irradiation, impurities
  of iron and in some cases other transition
  metals, and the presence of other trace elements,
  which result in complex crystal lattice
  substitutions. The hardness of the mineral is the
  same as quartz, thus making it suitable for use
  in jewelry.

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Hue and Tone

• Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light
  lavender or pale violet, to a deep purple.
  Amethyst may exhibit one or both secondary hues,
  red and blue. High quality amethyst can be found
  in Siberia, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Uruguay, and the
  Far East. The ideal grade is called "Deep
  Siberian" and has a primary purple hue of around
  7580, with 1520 blue and (depending on the
  light source) red secondary hues. Rose de France
  is defined by its markedly light shade of the
  purple, reminiscent of a lavender/lilac shade.
  These pale colors were once considered
  undesirable but have recently become popular due
  to intensive marketing.
• Green quartz is sometimes incorrectly called
  green amethyst, which is a misnomer and not an
  appropriate name for the material, the proper
  terminology being prasiolite. Other names for
  green quartz are vermarine or lime citrine.

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Amethyst frequently shows color zoning, with the
most intense color typically found at the crystal
terminations. One aspect in the art of lapidary
involves correctly cutting the stone to place the
color in a way that makes the tone of the
finished gem homogeneous. Often, the fact that
sometimes only a thin surface layer of violet
color is present in the stone or that the color
is not homogeneous means that only a small
portion of the material is suitable for faceting.
The color of amethyst has been demonstrated to
result from substitution by irradiation of
trivalent iron (Fe3) for silicon in the
structure, in the presence of trace elements of
large ionic radius, and, to a certain extent, the
amethyst color can naturally result from
displacement of transition elements even if the
iron concentration is low. Natural amethyst is
dichroic in reddish violet and bluish violet, but
when heated, turns yellow-orange, yellow-brown,
or dark brownish and may resemble citrine, but
loses its dichroism, unlike genuine citrine. When
partially heated, amethyst can result in
ametrine.
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History

• Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient
  Egyptians and was largely employed in antiquity
  for intaglio engraved gems.
• The Greeks believed amethyst gems could prevent
  intoxication, while medieval European soldiers
  wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle in
  the belief that amethysts heal people and keep
  them cool-headed. Beads of amethyst were found in
  Anglo-Saxon graves in England. Anglican bishops
  wear an episcopal ring often set with an
  amethyst, an allusion to the description of the
  Apostles as "not drunk" at Pentecost in Acts
  215.
• A large geode, or "amethyst-grotto", from near
  Santa Cruz in southern Brazil was presented at a
  1902 exhibition in Düsseldorf, Germany.

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Geographic Distribution

• Amethyst is found in many locations around the
  world. Between 2000 and 2010, the greatest
  production was from Marabá and Pau d'Arco, Pará,
  and the Paraná Basin, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
  Sandoval, Santa Cruz, Bolivia Artigas, Uruguay
  Kalomo, Zambia and Thunder Bay, Ontario. Lesser
  amounts are found in many other locations in
  Africa, Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Russia,
  Afghanistan, South Korea, Mexico, and the United
  States.
• Amethyst is produced in abundance from the state
  of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil where it occurs in
  large geodes within volcanic rocks. Many of the
  hollow agates of southwestern Brazil and Uruguay
  contain a crop of amethyst crystals in the
  interior. Artigas, Uruguay and neighboring
  Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul are large world
  producers, with lesser quantities mined in Minas
  Gerais and Bahia states.

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Amethyst is also found and mined in South Korea.
The large opencast amethyst vein at Maissau,
Lower Austria, was historically important, but is
no longer included among significant producers.
Much fine amethyst comes from Russia, especially
from near Mursinka in the Ekaterinburg district,
where it occurs in drusy cavities in granitic
rocks. Amethyst was historically mined in many
localities in south India, though these are no
longer significant producers. One of the largest
global amethyst producers is Zambia in southern
Africa with an annual production of about 1000
tons.


Amethyst occurs at many localities in the United
States. The most important production is at Four
Peaks, Gila and Maricopa Counties, Arizona, and
Jackson's Crossroads, Wilkes County, Georgia.
Smaller occurrences have been reported in the Red
Feather Lakes, near Fort Collins, Colorado
Amethyst Mountain, Texas Yellowstone National
Park Delaware County, Pennsylvania Haywood
County, North Carolina Deer Hill and Stow, Maine
and in the Lake Superior region of Minnesota,
Wisconsin and Michigan. Amethyst is relatively
common in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and
Nova Scotia. The largest amethyst mine in North
America is located in Thunder Bay, Ontario
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Faceted amethyst


Emerald cut amethyst


Amethyst crystals from Mexico
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Cultural History
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Ancient Greece

• The Greek word "amethystos" may be translated as
  "not drunken", from Greek a-, "not" methustos,
  "intoxicated". Amethyst was considered to be a
  strong antidote against drunkenness, which is why
  wine goblets were often carved from it. In his
  poem "L'Amethyste, ou les Amours de Bacchus et
  d'Amethyste" (Amethyst or the loves of Bacchus
  and Amethyste), the French poet Remy Belleau
  (15281577) invented a myth in which Bacchus, the
  god of intoxication, of wine, and grapes was
  pursuing a maiden named Amethyste, who refused
  his affections. Amethyste prayed to the gods to
  remain chaste, a prayer which the chaste goddess
  Diana answered, transforming her into a white
  stone. Humbled by Amethyste's desire to remain
  chaste, Bacchus poured wine over the stone as an
  offering, dyeing the crystals purple.
• Variations of the story include that Dionysus had
  been insulted by a mortal and swore to slay the
  next mortal who crossed his path, creating fierce
  tigers to carry out his wrath. The mortal turned
  out to be a beautiful young woman, Amethystos,
  who was on her way to pay tribute to Artemis. Her
  life was spared by Artemis, who transformed the
  maiden into a statue of pure crystalline quartz
  to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus
  wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at
  the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's
  tears then stained the quartz purple.

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Other Cultural Associations

• Tibetans consider amethyst sacred to the Buddha
  and make prayer beads from it. Amethyst is
  considered the birthstone of February. In the
  Middle Ages, it was considered a symbol of
  royalty and used to decorate English regalia. In
  the Old World, amethyst was considered one of the
  Cardinal gems, in that it was one of the five
  gemstones considered precious above all others,
  until large deposits were found in Brazil.

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Value

• Up until the 18th century, amethyst was included
  in the cardinal, or most valuable, gemstones
  (along with diamond, sapphire, ruby, and
  emerald). However, since the discovery of
  extensive deposits in locations such as Brazil,
  it has lost most of its value.
• Collectors look for depth of color, possibly with
  red flashes if cut conventionally. As amethyst is
  readily available in large structures the value
  of the gem is not primarily defined by carat
  weight this is different from most gemstones
  where the carat weight exponentially increases
  the value of the stone. The biggest factor in the
  value of amethyst is the color displayed.
• The highest-grade amethyst (called "Deep
  Russian") is exceptionally rare and therefore,
  when one is found, its value is dependent on the
  demand of collectors. It is, however, still
  orders of magnitude cheaper than the
  highest-grade sapphires or rubies.

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Color Of Amethyst Gemstone

• 1. Amethyst Gemstone is very attractive gemstone
  because of purple color. Amethyst is the name of
  the color as like word Turquoise.
• 2. Variety of shades of Amethyst Orchid and
  Lavender for light color, Reddish Purple or
  Violetish color.

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Amethyst Crystal

• Amethyst receiving at purple color during crystal
  growth when trace amount of iron are in corporate
  into a growing quartz crystal.
• The intensity of purple color vary from crystal
  to crystal.
• After the crystallization, gamma rays emitted by
  the radioactive material, and use iron to purple
  color.

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Amethyst Crystal
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Properties Of Amethyst Gemstone

• 1. Amethyst is a powerful and protective
  gemstone.
• 2. Amethyst boosts hormone production, tune the
  endocrine system and metabolism.
• 3. Amethyst protects the wearer from all types of
  harm psychic attack and other health problem.

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Care Of Amethyst Gem and Jewelry

• Avoid prolonged to bright light.
• Always cleaned amethyst jewelry with warm and
  sudsy water or use soft cloth.

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Amethyst Treatment to Citrine and Prasiolite

• . The color of Amethyst can be modified by
  heating.
• . Yellow or Golden Quartz sold as Citrine.
• . Natural heating can also change the color of
  Amethyst to pale green the name of the treatment
  is called Prasiolite.

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CUT

• Amethyst can be cut into a wide variety of
  shapes. As this is the case, you will be almost
  guaranteed to find a stone to fit your personal
  style. You will find these gemstones cut into
  standard shapes like rounds, pears, ovals, and
  cushions.
• You will also find purple quartz cut into faceted
  patterns referred to as brilliant cuts. And, if
  you are exceptionally adventurous, it is possible
  to find this special stone cut into one-of-a-kind
  shapes.

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CARAT

• Carat weight is always of importance in the
  discussion of gemstones. This stunning gemstone
  is often chosen as a center stone in jewelry as
  the cost of an amethyst does not increase in cost
  as dramatically with size as many other
  gemstones. Like other semi-precious gemstones, a
  large amethyst will be noticeably more
  cost-effective than precious stones like
  diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds.

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CLARITY

• Although clarity can have an impact on the value
  of your amethyst, so long as inclusions are
  indistinguishable to the naked eye, they will not
  greatly reduce the value of your stone. Indeed,
  color is more important in determining the value
  of this particular gem than minor flaws. Even
  with minor undistinguishable flaws, an amethyst
  with good color will retain most of its value.

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How is Amethyst Graded?

• Whether you are born in the month of February or
  are just a fan of this engaging purple gemstone,
  you will want to understand how amethysts are
  graded for quality.
• Amethysts gemstones typically fall under a AAAA
  to B grading system.

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AAAA GRADING

• It is extremely rare to find an amethyst with
  this rating. Only 1 of all amethysts can be
  expected to fall under this category. These
  stones will have no inclusions visible to the
  naked eye. Considered heirloom quality, these
  much sought after gemstones will have a
  distinctly dark purple hue.

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AAA GRADING

• You can expect to find only 10 of amethyst to
  fall into this category. These exceptional
  gemstones will have no visible flaws and a medium
  to dark purple color.

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AA GRADING

• Approximately 33 of amethyst on the market will
  fall into this category. You can expect to find
  slight inclusions in these medium purple
  gemstones.

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A GRADING

• Still considered good, these light purple
  amethysts can be expected to have slight to
  moderate inclusions.

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B GRADING

• There are also amethysts with a B grading, but we
  do not recommend B grade amethysts to be set in
  jewelry. They have obvious inclusions, and its
  color would have hues of grey and/or brown. B
  grade amethysts are usually chosen to be cut into
  cabochons, or beads. However, there are
  circumstances where it can be treated to have a
  richer purple color.

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Color Chart Of all Grades
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Thank You