Amethyst
"Because of its beauty the very best grade is
called the Gem of Venus".
Georgius Agricola (1494-1555), De Natura
Fossilium
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Dionysus, the
Greek god of wine and
mythical
creator of Amethyst |
The 'father of mineralogy', Georgius Agricola,
wasn't the first to be enamoured by the beauty
of Amethyst. Rich in myth, legend and lore,
Amethyst was set into gold rings as early as
2500 BC. Below, I'll decant some of the myths
behind Amethyst, pouring some wisdom on what to
look for in February's birthstone. But why the
wine analogies?
Known as Dionysus to the Greeks and Bacchus to
the Romans, this 'bad boy' of Greek mythology
was their god of wine. Despite Dionysus's divine
mission to end care and worry, he spread his
fair share of mayhem, especially after a few
quarts of old grape juice. The story 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. Enter
Amethyst, a young, innocent, beautiful maiden
(and a big fan of the goddess Diana), followed
by two hungry tigers courtesy of Dionysus. As
Amethyst screams, Dionysus filled his goblet
ready for the main event, maiden versus tiger.
Divinely unimpressed by Dionysus's shenanigans,
all-seeing Diana quickly turned Amethyst into a
Quartz statue, as pure as her virtue. While
protected from harm, unfortunately the spell
couldn't be reversed, causing a guilt-ridden
Dionysus to weep tears of sorrow. Collapsing as
his tears dripped into his goblet, its contents
splashed onto the statue, creating the purple
gem we call Amethyst.
Long before Roman emperors donned the bright
purple 'toga picta', pharaohs, kings and queens
made purple a potent symbol of sovereignty. 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
power. Because of this heritage, it's not
surprising that Amethyst was popular with the
Catholic Church in the middle ages. Thought to
promote celibacy, it soon became known as the
'papal stone'. Even today, bishops still wear
Amethyst rings.
Amethyst has more superstitions than a
professional gambler - it's hard to find a
malady this gem won't supposedly fix! Leonardo
Da Vinci (1452-1519) wrote that Amethyst was
able to dissipate evil thoughts and quicken the
intelligence, while Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD),
Roman historian and author of 'Historia
Naturalis' (the world's first encyclopaedia),
reported that if the name of the moon or sun was
engraved upon an Amethyst hung from the neck by
the hair of a baboon it became a charm against
witchcraft and beneficial to those petitioning
princes.
While its myths are fascinating, what makes
Amethyst tick? A variety of macrocrystalline
(large crystal) Quartz that occurs in
transparent pastel roses to deep purples,
Amethyst owes its colours to iron. Some other
popular macrocrystalline Quartzes are included
here and you can read about the
cryptocrystalline (small crystal) Quartzes on
click here.
Colour is Amethyst's most important
consideration, with the deeper shades commanding
higher prices. 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. Amethyst crystals occur with
reasonably few inclusions, so the standard is
eye-clean, with no visible inclusions when the
gem is examined six inches from the naked eye.
As it's a popular gem for lapidaries and jewellers, you'll find more fanciful shapes
and cuts of Amethyst than you will for many
other gems. Regardless of the cut, look for an
even colour and good brilliance.
Found on every continent in varying amounts,
Amethyst can vary depending on its origin. First
appearing in Europe in 1727, gorgeous Brazilian
Amethyst remains prolific, while Uruguayan
Amethyst is noted for its spectacular beauty.
Deep purple Siberian Amethyst is now historic,
although you'll sometimes hear 'Siberian'
incorrectly used to describe intensely coloured
Amethyst from any locale.
Amethyst might be a gem of antiquity, but it
remains an important fashion gemstone due to its
timeless beauty, rich colour and durability. One
of the highlights of the 41st Bangkok Gems & Jewellery Fair was 'Purple Evolution'. This
outstanding display featured virtually
everything purple, eye-catching, rare and
unique, including purple gold, Lavender Jade,
Purple Sapphire and you guessed it, Amethyst.
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Ametrine |
Bi Colour
Quartz |
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Ametrine
Ametrine (Amethyst-Citrine Quartz, Trystine or Golden
Amethyst) is a bicolour blend of Citrine and
Amethyst. Its unusual colour is due to iron in
different states of oxidation. While its main
deposit in Bolivia (Anahi Mine, named for an
Ayoreos princess who married a Spanish
Conquistador) has been famous since the 17th
century, it's only become commercially available
since 1980. Fine specimens display intense colours evenly split.
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Bi Colour Amethyst |
Bi Colour Citrine |
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Bi Colour Amethyst
Caused because of environmental changes
during formation, Bi Colour Amethyst is a
bicolour blend of Amethyst and White Quartz.
Faceted to showcase this feature, fine specimens
have a balanced contrast between its colours.
Citrine
Named for 'citron', the French word for lemon,
Citrine occurs naturally with Amethyst and is
also coloured by iron. It appears in pastel
lemon yellow, golden yellow, mandarin orange and
'Madeira' red (for the wine). Caused because of
environmental changes during formation, Bi
Colour Citrine is a bicolour blend of Citrine
and White Quartz.
Green Amethyst
Ranging from pastel to deep forest green,
Green Amethyst is the green variety of quartz.
It is also known as Vermarine, Green Quartz,
Lime Citrine or by its gemmological name,
Prasiolite (from the Greek words 'prason',
meaning leek and 'lithos', meaning stone). Olive
Quartz is a related colour variety.
Rose de France Amethyst
Hailing from Brazil, 'Rose de France'
Amethyst (Lavender Amethyst) is pastel lilac
pink. A popular Victorian gem, it often features
in antique jewellery.
Rose Quartz
The pink variety of quartz, Rose Quartz is rarely transparent, displaying a beautiful misty appearance.
Smoky Quartz
Coloured by aluminium, Smoky Quartz and
its related colour variety Cognac Quartz are
earthy transparent Quartzes also known as
'champagne on ice'. A variety of Smoky Quartz
called Cairngorm (named for its historic source
in the Scottish Highlands) is the national gem
of Scotland.
White Quartz
Also known as Rock Crystal, the absence of
metallic elements makes White Quartz colourless.
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Given Amethyst's
mythological origin, it should come as
no surprise that it was once fashioned
into talismans and goblets to prevent
drunkenness. But did the ancient Greeks
really believe this? After a lot of
digging, I think I have the answer. They
certainly weren't dummies, yet Amethyst
is derived from the Greek word 'amethustos',
which means 'not drunk'. 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'.
While legend would have us believe the
Greeks really thought Amethyst would
prevent intoxication, writing in the 1st
century Pliny the Elder was sceptical,
remarking, "the lying Magi promise that
these gems are an antidote to
drunkenness". Yet in his 'Book of
Precious Stones', the 13th-century
Arabic scholar Mohammed Ben Mansur
affirms that, "wine drunk out of a
goblet of Amethyst does not intoxicate".
At this time, Arabians placed
extraordinary value upon Amethyst, so
you'd think Ben would've got it right.
While it's tempting to dismiss this as
fanciful, if you fill an Amethyst goblet
with water, it does look a lot like
wine, so perhaps this legend has a grain
of truth. Doubly so, when you speculate
what a good Muslim is doing drinking in
the first place. Perhaps this was the
ruse. Turn up at a party, Amethyst
goblet in hand, look like you can drink
Oliver Reed under the table, yet still
keep your faith (and your head). |
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