The violet quartz is found there in ample quantities, though rarely in gemstone quality. On the Canadian side of Lake Superior in North America, there is a place named Amethyst Harbor. Good specimens were found in Aztec graves, though the deposits from which they were extracted are no longer known today. However, this gemstone is spread all over the world. The third major export country is Madagascar. The deposits with the greatest economic significance are in various states in southern Brazil and in neighbouring Uruguay. Sudden changes of temperature can also be harmful to the stone. The fact that these stones can lose their colour makes it obvious that amethyst jewellery should not be worn while sunbathing, in a solarium or in a discotheque with black light.

The reason for this has not yet been discovered, but it is possible to re-colour them by means of radium radiation. Some amethysts pale almost to colourlessness in daylight. The Henn Brothers of Idar-Oberstein even supply the photos to go with it. However, the highlight for esoterics is that the energy fields can in fact be made visible in polarised light. At best, flat jewellery with a three-spoked star can be cut from it. This variety is known as ametrine, for in its formation certain energy states of iron introduce violet areas to the yellow citrine.

Now and then Nature gives us a surprise by having created bicoloured stones, like the ones recently found in Bolivia in the form of causticised crystal nuggets. those with a high degree of transparency, become yellow or colourless at 400 degrees. Smoky stones are transformed at temperatures of as little as 250 degrees to a shining yellow to brownish-red, whilst clear ones, i.e. One thing that has been known for a long time, on the other hand, is the fact that the amethyst changes its colour on being heated. It is now attributed to certain iron constituents in connection with natural radioactive radiation. It is only in the last few years that scientists have been fairly certain of having found the real cause of the colour. This explains why there are relatively few large cut amethysts of an evenly distributed dark colour, in spite of its having been found so abundantly in all parts of the world. The construction is stratified, as a result of which areas and lamellae of varying colour intensity often come about. The amethyst has its hardness (7), its moderate refraction and its weight in common with the other quartzes, but the crystal structure is different, and it is most unconventional. However, the most beautiful of all crystal quartzes also posed one or two riddles for the scientists, and indeed they still haven't been completely solved to this day. It was the stone of bishops and cardinals we find it in prelates' crosses and in the so-called Papal Ring (Italian, 15th century) in the Jewellery Museum in Pforzheim. But the amethyst not only had a firm niche in medicine it was also esteemed as a stone of friendship.Īnd since it was thought to put the wearer in a chaste frame of mind and symbolise trust and piety, the amethyst came to occupy a very prominent position in the ornaments of the Catholic clergy over the centuries. Apart from these powers, gemstone therapists say that the amethyst has a sobering and cleansing effect.Īmethyst has also been said to quell excessive stomach acid and, according to Hildegard von Bingen, served to combat insect bites and beautify the skin. Later, Hieronymus even reported that eagles placed an amethyst in their nest in order to protect their young from the selfsame danger.

A little study of the works of Pliny will reveal that this gemstone, if worn round the neck on a cord made from dog's hair, affords protection against snakebite. It was said to protect crops against tempests and locusts, bring good fortune in war and in the hunt, drive out evil spirits and inspire the intellect. In popular belief, the amethyst offers protection against drunkenness - for the Greek words 'amethystos' mean 'not intoxicated' in translation.Ī more apt stone for the month of February, particularly if there is to be plenty going on in the way of carnival celebrations, could thus hardly be wished for.Ī large number of further miraculous powers are attributed to the amethyst in all sorts of cultures. Moses described it as a symbol of the Spirit of God in the official robes of the High Priest of the Jews, and the Russian Empress Catherine the Great sent thousands of miners into the Urals to look for it. For many thousands of years, the most striking representative of the quartz family has been a jewel coveted by princes both ecclesiastical and secular. Its colour is as unique as it is seductive, though in fact this gemstone of all gemstones is said to protect its wearer against seduction.

Amethyst color blouse