Amethysts are one of the most popular of all gems. This rich purple gem is the birthstone for the month of February and is considered a semi precious gemstone in the quartz family.
Way back in the day people would fashion wine goblets out this this deep violet stone. They did this because legend had it that the stone used to be a woman who maddened Dionysus who threw wine at her just before turning her to stone. The wine is why she became a purple stone. People believed that this made Amethyst a good stone for keeping stupid drunkenness away and so the goblets were created.
There are many other beliefs related to amethysts, for example some say they are sure to bring luck, rid you of homesickness as well as dispel negativity. Even the great Leonardo Di Vinci had his own thoughts about this gemstone, he thought that it could actually make one smarter just by wearing it.
Purple has long been seen as the color of royalty in many different cultures all over the world and that is why you often see amethysts on crowns. Even the British Crown Jewels contain plenty of these gorgeously luxurious stones. Egyptians treasured them, Russia’s Catherine the Great adored them and in Tibet this gem is considered sacred to the Buddha. That’s why it is so easy to find prayer beads made from this semi precious gemstone.
There are many different shades of amethyst. You can find pale watery purples and lilacs to deep, deep purples. The paler lilac amethysts were very popular in Victorian times, they called it Rose de France. Back then they didn’t have access to the mines that product the really dark purples.
Most of the highest quality amethysts that we see in modern jewelry comes from countries like Brazil, Malagasy Republic as well as Uruguay.
You don’t have to be born in February to appreciate the luxury of this royal stone, it is gorgeous and looks great on both men and women.
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I usually don?t post in Blogs but your blog forced me to, amazing work.. beautiful ?
i agree, I think it is a very underapreciated stone i remember how much i liked my amatheyst when i was a kid and had a rock collection