The Amethyst Buying Guide: a comprehensive guide on Amethyst gems

Amethyst

While Amethyst it's self it quite common certain varieties of Amethyst are quite rare and valuable.

The color purple is traditionally the color of royalty and amethyst has been used since the dawn of history to adorn the rich and powerful monarchs and rulers. Today, amethyst is a lovely and affordable gemstone that is fortunately available in a wide variety of cut and uncut stones that we can all possess and admire.

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz and is a very popular gemstone.

Birthstone
It is the birthstone for the month of February and is easily found in just about every jewelry store in the world. 

History
The name "Amethyst" comes from the Greek and means "not drunken." It was once believed that wearing Amethyst could ward off the effects of alcohol.

Color
All Amethyst is Purple.  However it comes in a wade range of purple shades, from light lilac pink to deep purple almost black.

  Light Lilac Amethyst                        Medium Purple Amethyst   

Dark purple/ black Amethyst

Healing properties:
The royal purple color of amethyst makes it a royal stone. It helps you attain spiritual perfection and assists you in calming the thoughts for meditation. It helps you channel the higher energies of your angels and guides. It brings peace and helps integrate new ideas. Amethyst is also a traditional stone to wear for protection against negative energizes or psychic attacks.

Not all Amethyst is created equal:
Often cut gems of amethyst are graded using the terms: Siberian, Uruguayan or Bahain; to represent high medium and low grade respectively, regardless of the actual source.

Siberian Amethyst from Russia

Best
Ural Mountains, Russia -- a very clear and dark variety that is cut for fine expensive gemstones, natural uncut clusters are rarely on the market.

Uruguay crystals are dark to medium

Guerrero, Mexico -- dark, deep purple, prismatic crystals that radiate outward from a common attachment point. Often the crystals are phantomed opposite of Vera Cruz amethyst having a purple interior with a clear or white quartz exterior. These are some of the most valuable amethysts in the world.

African Amethyst

Good
Vera Cruz, Mexico -- very pale, clear, prismatic crystals that are sometimes double terminated and have grown on a light colored host rock. Crystals are typically phantomed, having a clear quartz interior and an amethyst exterior. Some are sceptered and phantomed.

Thunder Bay, Canada -- a distinct red hematite inclusion just below the surface of the crystals is unique to this locality.

Africa -- crystals are usually large but not attractive. However, the interior color and clarity are excellent and polished slices and carvings as well as many gemstones are prized and admired.

Brazilian Amethyst

Fair
Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, Bahaia, Brazil The crystals that form are usually light to medium in color and only colored at the tops of the crystals. 

Maraba, Brazil -- large crystals with unattractive surfaces that are of a pale to medium color and often carved or cut into slices.

North Carolina, USA -- Druzy clusters that have a bluish-violet tint.

Italy  Vera Cruz like crystals, although not as well defined, and large parallel growth clusters with good evenly distributed color.

VARIETY INFORMATION:

• Variety  Quartz , SiO2 .
• Uses: Gemstones and ornamental stones.
• Birthstone for February
• Color: various shades of purple.
• Index of refraction: 1.544-1.553
• Birefringence: 0.009
• Hardness: 7
• Cleavage: none
• Crystal system: trigonal
• Pleochroic: no