Amethysts & Amethyst Jewelry

My sister loves the color purple, which makes the Amethyst the perfect gem for her. Also her birthday just happens to be in February and since the Amethyst is the February birthstone...  

So what is an Amethyst? It's a purple variety of quartz that can be cut into beautiful gems. The purple color comes from iron and aluminum embedded in the quartz crystal. All of the quartz family of crystals are fairly hard and tough, rating about a 7 on the Mohs hardness scale, so they are tough enough to wear without worry.

The name comes from the Greek a ("not") and methustos ("to intoxicate"), a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. 

Article by Rachana Agarwal

Each month has its different birthstone that influences the personality of a person. It's a belief that people actually get some magical powers on the basis of their zodiac signs that can be enhanced if you wear the suitable stones as inscribed by the ancient scriptures.

Amethyst is the birthstone for the month of February. It can save from deceit and protect a person from baldness. It is also believed to improve the condition of skin of a person too. It occurs naturally as crystals within rocks. Basically, the stones are mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Zambia, and Australia and in the mountains of Russia America.

Amethyst generally illuminate if exposed to strong sunlight for a long time. Its color will also get changed to dark yellow or reddish brown when heated to 550-560 Centigrade. They are ideal deep medium purple with rose-colored sparks; normally amethysts range in shade from pale lilac to nearly black purple.

The gemstone amethyst has a striking purple color. And due to its magnificence Amethyst was the most commonly used jewelry by the kings and queens of the yesteryears. Till now, it has been a great part of the British royal jewelry.

The word amethyst is derived from the Greek word "amethystos," which means sober. In ancient Greece, amethyst was connected with the god of wine, and it was a common practice to serve drink from Amethyst goblets in the belief that this would prevent intemperance. Even today, amethyst is regarded as a steady force for those struggling to overcome their addictive habits.

So if you February born and a strong believer of birthstones go for a beautiful amethyst. You will find many jewelers dedicated to gemstone jewelry from ages where you could buy your birthstone jewelry. Many websites on the net have rich information on the benefits of amethyst as a birthstone. You can also look for many success stories where they actually prove beneficial. That's why; the market of birthstones is a blooming these days. Though, no official guarantee is given that the birthstone will have an effect or not.

About the Author

The author is an experienced jewelry expert. For more information on jewelry, please visit: http://www.preciousglow.com/