Amethyst Education - February Birthstone

February Birthstone Amethyst

Birthstone: Amethyst
Moh's hardness: 7
Specific Gravity: 2.65
Color: Various shades of Purple
Chemical Composition: Si02, silicon dioxide

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Amethyst is the purple variety of the quartz family, and the most valued member of of the quartz family. It must be purple to be Amethyst, but it can display a range of shades including deep purple, light lilac, lavender, and mauve. Top quality Amethyst is a deep medium purple with rose-colored flashes. It's purple color made it a stone of royalty for many thousands of years.

Amethyst can occur as crystals that are six sided on either end. It also forms as drusy which are crystalline crusts covering the host rock. It is found inside geodes and in allucial deposits all around the world and occurs in both crystalline or massive forms.
When manganese is present in clear quartz Amethyst is produced, while the amount of iron contained in the specimen accounts for the depth of purple.

Most Amethyst gemstones on the marked today are heat treated to produce a deeper color. Heat treating is permanent and these stones will not fade over time. Unless otherwise stated assume that any Amethyst you purchase today has been heat treated to increase the depth of color. Also note that most Citrine available on the market today is actually heat treated Amethyst.

Folklore has it that Amethyst has been used to guard against drunkenness and is thought to be helpful in overcoming addiction. It has been used for hearing disorders, insomnia, headaches and other pain. Some sources suggest it is used to stabilize mental disorders.