Amethyst Gemstone
What is the Citrine?
Citrine is yellow-orange which makes it a trendy gem for those who love jewelry. Its name derives from the Latin term "Citrus" which designates the citrus family homage to its color.
Citrine is a relatively rare gem in nature and is often mistaken for Topaz due to its substantial similarity.
Amethyst Mineral
Amethyst is one of the rarest violet-colored varieties of Quartz, which is the second most abundant mineral in the earth's crust. This gem is found in basalt rocks inside cavities called Geodes and has good hardness, 7 on the Mohs scale.
In Amethysts, the color is not always homogeneous; the most beautiful specimens have high transparency and intense purple color.
The historic amethyst deposits are located in the Urals in Russia and those of Idar-Oberstein in Germany. In a more recent era, vast gem deposits have been discovered in South America, the USA, South East Asia, Madagascar, and some regions of Italy, where crystals of excellent quality are found.
What is the Amethyst?
Although Amethyst is a variety of quartz, this gem has its strong point in its color. Purple in its various shades of color is still associated with a sense of royalty, both religious and civil.
Amethyst takes on a violet color in the most varied shades, from intense to soft, when iron impurities are more or less dispersed in its crystalline structure together with other chemical elements that are grouped in small centers of color.
This gem retains a high value when it has characteristics of purity and intensity of color. However, Amethyst is no longer as rare as due to the large deposits discovered in the 19th century.
Amethyst Birthstone & Anniversary
Amethyst is the gemstone of the month of February.
Amethyst is traditionally given as a gift for the 6th wedding anniversaries.
Amethyst Quality Factor
Discover the quality factor of the Amethyst
The beauty of Amethyst depends on the quality of the raw mineral highlighted by the master cutter.
We can summarize in 3 points a good quality Amethyst:
The finest amethyst has an intense purple color and excellent clarity.
This gem is also very popular when it has a violet color.
The amethyst must have a homogeneous intensity of color throughout the gem.
The Brief History of Amethyst
The Amethyst has a place of honor in the history of Gems. This gem was already known from the third millennium BC.
The Egyptians, the Greeks, and the Romans used this gem to adorn themselves with strong symbolic and esoteric value. The ancients were believed that the Amethyst favored the intellect and made them invincible in battle.
The Amethyst, especially from the Middle Ages, was a scarce and precious gem. This gem was the favorite of the ecclesiastics, aristocracy, and nobility of the Asian and European courts. After discovering the massive Brazilian deposits in the nineteenth century, Amethyst became accessible to an ever-larger population of admirers.
Why we love Amethyst
Amethyst Jewelry
The Amethyst has always played a significant role in the construction of high-profile jewels.
The beauty of the deep and well-diffused purple color is an indispensable feature that all jewelry lovers want to have. Believing in the symbolic value of the Amethyst and preserving its origins is not an easy operation permitted only to those who have great traditions behind them.
At the "Museo Degli Argenti" in Florence, we find a splendid jewel from Pompeii consisting of a large amethyst engraved with the representation of Apollo Citaredo, the god of the Muses; likewise, a vase by Lorenzo the Magnificent made in Florence in the second part of the 15th century in the middle of the Renaissance.
