::AMETHYST::

HEALING PROPERTIES:
Amethyst is associated with spiritual awareness, meditation, balance, psychic abilities, inner peace, healing and positive transformation. This stone brings an understanding of death and rebirth and aids in past-life recall. Keep it under your pillow to cure insomnia and develop intuitive powers. Also relieves stress and brings calmness in times of grief. Protects against blood diseases, toxic effects of substances, acne, neuralgia and fits. Indispensable for curing alcoholism and diabetes.

PHYSICAL CHEMICAL PROPERTIES:
Found in abundance, in its purest form, Amethyst is colorless. The finest quality Amethyst is medium to medium dark in tone, vivid in intensity, and purple, reddish purple to bluish purple in hue. Heating removes the color from amethyst or changes it to the yellow of citrine. Most commercial citrine is made in this manner. Amethyst is the most valuable transparent, coarse-grained variety of the silica mineral quartz that is valued as a semiprecious gem for its violet color. It contains more iron oxide Fe₂O₃ than any other variety of quartz, and experts believe that its color arises from its iron content. Other theories attribute the color to contained manganese or hydrocarbons. All forms of quartz (including amethyst) are piezoelectric, making for important applications in electronics. Tourmaline is the only other gemstone that possesses this property.

Amethyst

Chemical Formula

SiO₂

Hardness

Specific Gravity

2.6 - 2.7

Refractive Index

1.54 - 1.55

ORIGIN HISTORY:
The story of the origin of amethyst comes from Greek legends: The god of wine, Bacchus, was insulted one day by a mere mortal. He swore the next mortal that crossed his path, would be attacked by his fierce tigers. Along came a beautiful maiden named Amethyst. Goddess Diana turned Amethyst in a beautiful statue of quartz to save her from the tigers claws. Remorseful Bacchus wept tears of wine over the stone maiden, creating a lively purple stone.
Purple color has long been considered a royal color so it is not surprising that amethyst has been so popular through the history. Fine amethysts are featured in the British Crown Jewels and were also a favorite of Catherine the Great and Egyptian royalty. There are evidences that around 3,000 B. C. in Egypt and in anterior Asia were made jewels of Amethyst. The Amethyst is perhaps as popular today as it was in ancient time. Amethyst derives its name from Middle English amatist, from Old French, from Latin amethystus, from Greek amethustos, not drunk or intoxicating.

GEOGRAPHICAL DEPOSITS:
Amethyst is mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Sri Lanka, Siberia, Canada, India, Bolivia, and Argentina and some African countries. Zambia being a significant source for Amethyst. Generally, amethyst from South America tends to be available in larger sizes than African amethyst but amethyst from Africa has the reputation for having better, more saturated, color in small sizes. Very dark amethyst, mostly in small sizes, is also mined in Australia.