Amethyst

Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz.

The name comes from the Koine Greek
ἀμέθυστος amethystos from ἀ- a-, "not"
and μεθύσκω methysko / μεθύω methyo,
"intoxicate", a reference to the belief that
the stone protected its owner from
drunkenness.[1] The ancient Greeks wore
amethyst and carved drinking vessels
from it in the belief that it would prevent
intoxication.
 Amethyst

Amethyst cluster from Magaliesburg, South

Africa.

General

Category Silicate mineral

Formula Silica (silicon dioxide,

(repeating unit) SiO2)

Crystal system Trigonal

Crystal class Trapezohedral (32)

Identification

Color Purple, violet

Crystal habit 6-sided prism ending in

6-sided pyramid
(typical)
Twinning Dauphine law, Brazil
law, and Japan law

Cleavage None

Fracture Conchoidal

Mohs scale hardness 7–lower in impure

varieties

Luster Vitreous/glassy

Streak White

Diaphaneity Transparent to
translucent

Specific gravity 2.65 constant; variable

in impure varieties

Optical properties Uniaxial (+)

Refractive index nω = 1.543–1.553

nε = 1.552–1.554

Birefringence +0.009 (B-G interval)

Pleochroism Weak to moderate

 purple/reddish purple

Melting point 1650±75 °C

Solubility Insoluble in common

solvents

Other characteristics Piezoelectric

Amethyst is a semiprecious stone often

used in jewelry and is the traditional
birthstone for February.

Structure

Faceted amethyst
Emerald cut amethyst

Amethyst crystals from Mexico

Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz

(SiO2) and owes its violet color to
irradiation, impurities of iron and in some
cases other transition metals, and the
presence of other trace elements, which
result in complex crystal lattice
substitutions.[2][3][4] The hardness of the
mineral is the same as quartz, thus
making it suitable for use in jewelry.

Hue and tone

Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a
light pinkish violet to a deep purple.
Amethyst may exhibit one or both
secondary hues, red and blue.[5] The best
varieties of amethyst can be found in
Siberia, Sri Lanka, Brazil and the far East.
The ideal grade is called "Deep Siberian"
and has a primary purple hue of around
75–80%, with 15–20% blue and
(depending on the light source) red
secondary hues.[6] ‘Rose de France’ is
defined by its markedly light shade of the
purple, reminiscent of a lavender/lilac
shade. These pale colors, were once
considered undesirable but have recently
become popular due to intensive
marketing.

Green quartz is sometimes incorrectly

called green amethyst, which is a
misnomer and not an appropriate name
for the material, the proper terminology
being prasiolite. Other names for green
quartz are vermarine or lime citrine.
Of very variable intensity, the color of
amethyst is often laid out in stripes
parallel to the final faces of the crystal.
One aspect in the art of lapidary involves
correctly cutting the stone to place the
color in a way that makes the tone of the
finished gem homogeneous. Often, the
fact that sometimes only a thin surface
layer of violet color is present in the
stone or that the color is not
homogeneous makes for a difficult
cutting.

The color of amethyst has been

demonstrated to result from substitution
by irradiation of trivalent iron (Fe3+) for
silicon in the structure,[4][7] in the
presence of trace elements of large ionic
radius,[3] and, to a certain extent, the
amethyst color can naturally result from
displacement of transition elements even
if the iron concentration is low. Natural
amethyst is dichroic in reddish violet and
bluish violet,[4] but when heated, turns
yellow-orange, yellow-brown, or dark
brownish and may resemble citrine,[8] but
loses its dichroism, unlike genuine
citrine. When partially heated, amethyst
can result in ametrine.

Amethyst can fade in tone if overexposed

to light sources and can be artificially
darkened with adequate irradiation.[4] It
does not fluoresce under either short-
wave or long-wave UV light.

Geographic distribution

An amethyst geode that formed when large crystals

grew in open spaces inside the rock.

Amethyst is produced in abundance from

the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil where
it occurs in large geodes within volcanic
rocks. Many of the hollow agates of
southwestern Brazil and Uruguay contain
a crop of amethyst crystals in the interior.
Artigas, Uruguay and neighboring
Brazilian state Rio Grande do Sul are
large world producers exceeding in
quantity Minas Gerais, as well as Mato
Grosso, Espirito Santo, Bahia, and Ceará
states, all amethyst producers of
importance in Brazil.

Amethyst from Brazil in the Mineral museum in India

It is also found and mined in South

Korea. The largest opencast amethyst
vein in the world is in Maissau, Lower
Austria. Much fine amethyst comes from
Russia, especially from near Mursinka in
the Ekaterinburg district, where it occurs
in drusy cavities in granitic rocks. Many
localities in south India yield amethyst.[1]
One of the largest global amethyst
producers is Zambia in southern Africa
with an annual production of about 1000
tons.

Amethyst occurs at many localities in the

United States. Among these may be
mentioned: the Mazatzal Mountain
region in Gila and Maricopa Counties,
Arizona; Red Feather Lakes, near Ft
Collins, Colorado; Amethyst Mountain,
Texas; Yellowstone National Park;
Delaware County, Pennsylvania;
Haywood County, North Carolina; Deer
Hill and Stow, Maine and in the Lake
Superior region of Minnesota, Wisconsin
and Michigan.[1] Amethyst is relatively
common in the Canadian provinces of
Ontario and Nova Scotia. The largest
amethyst mine in North America is
located in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Amethyst is the official state gemstone

of South Carolina. Several South Carolina
amethysts are on display at the
Smithsonian Museum of Natural
History.[9]
History

Roman intaglio engraved gem of Caracalla in

amethyst, once in the Treasury of Sainte-Chapelle.

Uninscribed amethyst scarab at the center of a

string of amethyst ball beads. Middle Kingdom.
From Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian
Archaeology, London
Amethyst was used as a gemstone by
the ancient Egyptians and was largely
employed in antiquity for intaglio
engraved gems.[10]

The Greeks believed amethyst gems

could prevent intoxication,[11] while
medieval European soldiers wore
amethyst amulets as protection in battle
in the belief that amethysts heal people
and keep them cool-headed.[12] Beads of
amethyst were found in Anglo-Saxon
graves in England.[13] Anglican bishops
wear an episcopal ring often set with an
amethyst, an allusion to the description
of the Apostles as "not drunk" at
Pentecost in Acts 2:15.[14]
A large geode, or "amethyst-grotto", from
near Santa Cruz in southern Brazil was
presented at a 1902 exhibition in
Düsseldorf, Germany.[1]

In the 19th century, the color of amethyst

was attributed to the presence of
manganese. However, since it can be
greatly altered and even discharged by
heat, the color was believed by some
authorities to be from an organic source.
Ferric thiocyanate has been suggested,
and sulfur was said to have been
detected in the mineral.[1]

Synthetic amethyst
Synthetic (laboratory-grown) amethyst is
produced by a synthesis method called
hydrothermal growth, which grows the
crystals inside a high-pressure autoclave.

Synthetic amethyst is made to imitate

the best quality amethyst. Its chemical
and physical properties are the same to
that of natural amethyst and it can not be
differentiated with absolute certainty
without advanced gemmological testing
(which is often cost-prohibitive). There is
one test based on "Brazil law twinning" (a
form of quartz twinning where right and
left hand quartz structures are combined
in a single crystal[15]) which can be used
to identify synthetic amethyst rather
easily. It is possible to synthesize
twinned amethyst, but this type is not
available in large quantities in the
market.[6]

Single-crystal quartz is very desirable in

the industry, particularly for keeping the
regular vibrations necessary for quartz
movements in watches and clocks,
which is where a lot of synthetic quartz is
used.

Treated amethyst is produced by gamma

ray, X-ray or electron beam irradiation of
clear quartz (rock crystal) which has
been first doped with ferric impurities. On
exposure to heat, the irradiation effects
can be partially cancelled and amethyst
generally becomes yellow or even green,
and much of the citrine, cairngorm, or
yellow quartz of jewelry is said to be
merely "burnt amethyst".[1][16]

Cultural history
Ancient Greece

The Greek word "amethystos" may be

translated as "not drunken", from Greek
a-, "not" + methustos, "intoxicated".[17]
Amethyst was considered to be a strong
antidote against drunkenness,[18] which
is why wine goblets were often carved
from it.[19] In his poem "L'Amethyste, ou
les Amours de Bacchus et d'Amethyste"
(Amethyst or the loves of Bacchus and
Amethyste), the French poet Remy
Belleau (1528–1577) invented a myth in
which Bacchus, the god of intoxication,
of wine, and grapes was pursuing a
maiden named Amethyste, who refused
his affections. Amethyste prayed to the
gods to remain chaste, a prayer which
the chaste goddess Diana answered,
transforming her into a white stone.
Humbled by Amethyste's desire to
remain chaste, Bacchus poured wine
over the stone as an offering, dyeing the
crystals purple.[20][21]

Variations of the story include that

Dionysus had been insulted by a mortal
and swore to slay the next mortal who
crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to
carry out his wrath. The mortal turned
out to be a beautiful young woman,
Amethystos, who was on her way to pay
tribute to Artemis. Her life was spared by
Artemis, who transformed the maiden
into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to
protect her from the brutal claws.
Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse
for his action at the sight of the beautiful
statue. The god's tears then stained the
quartz purple.[22]

This myth and its variations are not

found in classical sources. However, the
titan Rhea does present Dionysus with an
amethyst stone to preserve the wine-
drinker's sanity in historical text.[23]

Other cultural associations

Tibetans consider amethyst sacred to

the Buddha and make prayer beads from
it.[24] Amethyst is considered the
birthstone of February.[25] In the Middle
Ages, it was considered a symbol of
royalty and used to decorate English
regalia.[25] In the Old World, amethyst
was considered one of the Cardinal
gems, in that it was one of the five
gemstones considered precious above
all others, until large deposits were found
in Brazil.
Value
Up until the 18th century, amethyst was
included in the cardinal, or most valuable,
gemstones (along with diamond,
sapphire, ruby, and emerald). However,
since the discovery of extensive deposits
in locations such as Brazil, it has lost
most of its value.

Collectors look for depth of color,

possibly with red flashes if cut
conventionally.[26] As amethyst is readily
available in large structures the value of
the gem is not primarily defined by carat
weight; this is different from most
gemstones where the carat weight
exponentially increases the value of the
stone. The biggest factor in the value of
amethyst is the color displayed.[27]

The highest grade amethyst (called

"Deep Russian") is exceptionally rare and
therefore, when one is found, its value is
dependent on the demand of collectors.
It is, however, still orders of magnitude
lower than the highest grade sapphires or
rubies.[6]

See also
Ametrine
Prasiolite
List of minerals
 Specimen Ridge
Cardinal gem

References
1.  One or more of the preceding
sentences incorporates text from a
publication now in the public
domain: Rudler, Frederick William
(1911). "Amethyst". In Chisholm,
Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica.
1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University
Press. p. 852.
2. Norman N. Greenwood and Alan
Earnshaw (1997). Chemistry of the
Elements (2nd ed.). Butterworth–
Heinemann. ISBN 0080379419.
3. Fernando S. Lameiras; Eduardo H. M.
Nunes; Wander L. Vasconcelos
(2009). "Infrared and Chemical
Characterization of Natural
Amethysts and Prasiolites Colored
by Irradiation". Materials Research.
12 (3): 315–320.
doi:10.1590/S1516-
14392009000300011 .
4. Michael O'Donoghue (2006), Gems,
Butterworth-Heinemann, 6th ed.
ISBN 978-0-7506-5856-0
5. "Amethyst: The world's most popular
purple gemstone" . [Link].
Retrieved August 29, 2017.
6. Richard W. Wise (2005), Secrets of
the Gem Trade; The Connoisseur's
Guide to Precious Gemstones,
Brunswick House Press, Lenox,
Mass., ISBN 0-9728223-8-0
7. George R. Rossman (1994). "Ch.13.
Colored Varieties of the Silica
Minerals". In Peter J. Heaney;
Charles T. Prewitt; Gerald V. Gibbs
(eds.). Silica: physical behavior,
geochemistry, and materials
applications. Mineralogical
Magazine. Reviews in Mineralogy.
29. Mineralogical Society of
America. pp. 433–468.
Bibcode:1996MinM...60..390H .
 doi:10.1180/minmag.1996.060.399.
16 . ISBN 978-0-939950-35-5.
8. Amethyst . [Link]
9. South Carolina State Gemstone -
Amethyst . [Link] (1969-06-24).
Retrieved on 2016-02-04.
10. Augosto Castellani (famous Italian
19th century jeweler) (1871), Gems,
Notes and Extracts , p. 34, London,
Bell and Daldy, ISBN 1-141-06174-0.
11. Marcell N. Smith (1913), Diamonds,
Pearls and Precious Stones Griffith
Stillings Press, Boston, Mass., p. 74
12. George Frederick Kunz (1913),
Curious Lore of Precious Stones ,
 Lippincott Company, Philadelphia &
London, p. 77
13. Michael Lapidge (ed.) (2000), The
Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Anglo-
Saxon England , p. 261,
ISBN 0631224920.
14. Bays, P. (2012). This Anglican
Church of Ours . Woodlake Book.
p. 136. ISBN 9781770644397.
15. "Quartz Page Twinning Crystals" .
[Link].
16. Michael O'Donoghue (1997).
Synthetic, Imitation, and Treated
Gemstones . Taylor & Francis.
pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-0-7506-
3173-0.
17. Harper, Douglas. "amethyst" . Online
Etymology Dictionary.
18. See, for example:
The earliest reference to
amethyst as a symbol of
sobriety is in a poem by
Asclepiades of Samos (born
≈320 BCE). See: "XXX.
Kleopatra's Ring" in: Edward
Storer, trans., The Windflowers
of Asklepiades and the Poems
of Poseidippos (London,
England: Egoist Press, 1920),
page 14 .
An epigram by "Plato the
Younger" also mentions
amethyst in connection with
drinking: "The stone is an
amethyst; but I, the tipler
Dionysus, say, "Let it either
persuade me to be sober, or let
it learn to get drunk." See:
George Burges et al., The Greek
Anthology, … (London, England:
George Bell and Sons, 1881), p.
369 .
Pliny says about amethysts:
"The falsehoods of the
magicians would persuade us
that these stones are preventive
of inebriety, and that it is from
this that they have derived their
name." See: Chapter 40 of Book
 37 of Pliny the Elder's The
Natural History.
19. Federman, David (2012). Modern
Jeweler's Consumer Guide to
Colored Gemstones . Springer
Science & Business Media. pp. 28–.
ISBN 978-1-4684-6488-7.
20. The "myth" of Amethyste and
Bacchus was invented by the French
poet Remy Belleau (1528–1577).
See: "L'Amethyste, ou les Amours de
Bacchus et d'Amethyste" from
Belleau's collection of poems "Les
Amours et Nouveaux Eschanges des
Pierres Precieuses: Vertus &
Proprietez d'icelles" (The loves and
 new transformations of the precious
stones: their virtues and properties),
which was published in: Remy
Belleau, Les Amours et Nouveaux
Eschanges des Pierres Precieuses …
(Paris, France: Mamert Patisson,
1576), pp. 4–6 .
21. George Frederick Kunz (1913).
Curious Lore of Precious Stones .
pp. 58–59.
22. The amethyst , [Link]
23. Nonnus, Dionysiaca, 12. 380
24. Tropical Gemstones, by Carol Clark
p.52
25. February Birthstone | Amethyst .
[Link] (2016-01-
 12). Retrieved on 2016-02-04.
26. THE GEMSTONE BOOK Gemstones,
Organic Substances & Artificial
Products — Terminology &
Classification (PDF). The World
Jewellery Confideration (CIBJO).
2012. Archived from the original
(PDF) on August 12, 2012. Retrieved
June 27, 2012.
27. "Amethyst Jewelry and Gemstones
Information - International Gem
Society IGS" . [Link].
Retrieved October 3, 2014.

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