What Is Amethyst?

An amethyst is a semi precious stone that is a mineral that is found in rocks in the ground. It is a type of quartz. Amethyst is only one of several quartz varieties. Other varieties include citrine, a yellow to orange gemstone variety that is rare in nature but is often created by heating amethyst, milky quartz, a cloudy white variety, rock crystal, a clear quartz , rose quartz, which is pink and smoky quartz which is grey.

Amethyst itself is a delicate purple or lavender colour and can be cut into brightly sparkling stones that are inset into pendants and ring settings. Cut gems of amethyst are graded as Siberian, Uruguayan or Bahain. Siberian amethysts are the best grade, Bahain the most inferior but these names just refer to their quality, not the geographical location of their source.

The crystals can appear patchy in colour and so are often cut as brilliant round cuts to make the best of this.

Amethyst is basically a violet or even a purple assortment of quartz. It is mostly used as an ornament. The name Amethyst derives from Greek a (not) and methuskein, which in English means "to intoxicate". It stands as belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness.

Amethyst takes place in many regions of the United States. Some of them are Amethyst Mountain, Texas; Yellowstone National Park; Delaware County, Pennsylvania; Haywood County, North Carolina; and Deer Hill and Stow, Maine. It is also found in the Lake Superior area. It is also quiet common in north-western Ontario, and all the way through Nova Scotia. It is shaped in great quantity from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil where it takes place in large geodes inside volcanic rocks.