Even today, bishops still wear Amethyst rings. Thought to promote celibacy, it soon became known as the ‘papal stone’. Because of this heritage, it’s not surprising that Amethyst was popular with the Catholic Church in the middle ages. From the signet of Cleopatra, an Amethyst engraved with a figure of Bacchus, to the Amethyst necklace of Queen Charlotte, wife of George III of England, Amethyst will forever be linked to fashion, prestige, and power. While legend would have us believe the Greeks really thought Amethyst would prevent intoxication, writing in the 1 st century Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), Roman historian and author of Historia Naturalis (the world’s first encyclopedia), was skeptical, remarking, “the lying Magi promise that these gems are an antidote to drunkenness.” Yet in his’ Book of Precious Stones’, the 13 th century Arabic scholar Mohammed Ben Mansur affirms that, “wine drunk out of a goblet of Amethyst does not intoxicate.” However, if you fill an Amethyst goblet with water, it does look a lot like wine, so perhaps this legend has a grain of truth after all… Long before Roman emperors donned the bright purple ‘toga picta’, pharaohs, kings and queens made purple a potent symbol of sovereignty. Adopting words from other languages, the Greek name is probably a play on the Hebrew for a purple gem, ‘achlamath’, which itself is possibly derived from the Persian ‘shemest’. Collapsing as his tears dripped into his goblet, its contents splashed onto the statue, creating the purple gem we call Amethyst. While protected from harm, unfortunately the spell couldn’t be reversed, causing a guilt-ridden Dionysus to weep tears of sorrow. Divinely unimpressed by Dionysus’s shenanigans, all-seeing Diana quickly turned Amethyst into a Quartz statue, as pure as her virtue. As Amethyst screamed, Dionysus filled his goblet. Enter Amethyst, a young, innocent, beautiful maiden (and a worshipper of the goddess Diana), followed by two hungry tigers’ courtesy of Dionysus. Despite Dionysus’s divine mission to end care and worry, he spread his fair share of mayhem, especially after a few quarts of wine! The legend goes that a drunken Dionysus, none too happy after being shunned by a passing mortal, swore revenge on the next unfortunate to cross his path. Derived from the Greek ‘amethustos’, which means ‘not drunk’, Amethyst is mythologically associated with Dionysus (Bacchus to the Romans), the Greek god of wine, and was once fashioned into talismans and goblets to prevent intoxication. Cryptocrystalline (small crystal) Quartz gemstones include, Agate, Chalcedony, Jasper, and Onyx. Some other popular macrocrystalline quartzes are Citrine, Rose Quartz, and Tiger’s Eye. Colored by trace amounts of iron, Amethyst is a variety of macrocrystalline (large crystal) Quartz that comes in pastel roses to deep purples.
Our Uruguayan Amethyst is optimally faceted by experienced lapidaries who carefully orientate each crystal to maximize its colorful brilliance, maintaining a high-polish/luster, good overall appearance (outline, profile and proportions), and an eye-clean clarity.įebruary’s birthstone, Amethyst was set into gold rings as early as 2500 BC, and is a gemstone rich in myth, legend, and lore. Uruguayan Amethyst also displays an attractive color change from purple in sunlight (candescent), to pink in candlelight (incandescent). Uruguayan Amethyst’s beauty is primarily determined by color, with the most valuable gemstones being transparent, pure purple with a deep saturation and tone, and desirable blue/red flashes. Regardless of the cut, look for an even color and good brilliance. As it’s popular with both lapidaries and jewelers, you’ll find more fanciful shapes and cuts of Amethyst than you will for many other gemstones. Amethyst crystals occur with reasonably few inclusions, so the standard is eye-clean, the highest quality clarity grade for colored gemstones. Although you’ll sometimes see the historic term ‘Siberian’ used to describe intensely colored Amethyst from any locale, this is technically incorrect.
The most valuable Amethysts are medium to dark toned, transparent, and pure violet with no shading toward red or blue, although blue or red flashes are desirable and highly coveted.
Color is Amethyst’s most important consideration, with the deeper shades commanding higher prices.
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