Amethysts Gem Stones Part One

A three part series on the Amethyst Gem Stones

What is an amethyst gem stone? Amethyst is a violet or purpose variety of quartz. The name comes from the Greek and essentially means, "not drunk".

It was believed that the stone protected it's owner from the intoxicating effects of alcohol and Dionysius, who was the god of intoxication, was angered when he was insulted by a mortal and in a moment of pique vowed to enact revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path. He created tigers to carry out his wish and when a beautiful girl called Amethyst came among the path on her way to pay tribute to the Goddess Diana, Diana quickly changed the tigers into statutes of pure crystal quartz. Filled with remorse for his actions Dionysius wept tears which stained the quarts purple creating the amethysts we know today.

Amethysts can be found in many locations including various areas of the US such as Delaware county, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Texas and Yellowstone national Park for example.

Amethyst is also found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Uruguay, as well as in Zambia, Namibia and other African countries.

Amethyst from South America tend to be available in larger sizes than the African amethyst but, on the other hand, amethyst from Africa have the reputation for having a better, more saturated color in smaller sizes. Very dark amethysts, mostly in small sizes, are also mined in Australia.

As purple has always been considered a royal color it comes as no surprise that the amethyst gem stone has been so much in demand by royalty throughout history. You can see amethysts featured in the British Crown Jewels. They were also a favorite of Catherine the Great and Egyptian royalty. Amethyst, transparent purple quartz, is probably the most important quartz variety used in jewelry.

Leonardo Da Vinci once wrote that the amethyst was able to dissipate evil thoughts and quicken the intelligence.

Because amethyst was thought to encourage celibacy and symbolize piety, amethyst was very important in the ornamentation of Catholic and other churches in the Middle Ages. It was, in particular, considered to be the stone of bishops and they still often wear amethyst rings.

And in Tibet, amethyst is considered to be sacred to Buddha with rosaries often fashioned from it.

End of part one of a three part series on Amethysts Gem Stones. part two may be read at http://allaboutamethysts.org

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