The mineral quartz includes a diverse family of gemstones including the violet hued variety, amethyst. This gemstone’s coloring can range from the desirable saturated darker purples and reddish purples to lighter grayish lavender tints. Naturally occurring irradiation and a trace amount of iron present in amethyst’s crystal structure causes its violet color.
Throughout history this gemstone has been a favorite amongst royalty, decorating kings and queens in the color of nobility. At one time amethyst was as expensive as ruby or emerald until the late 19th century when vast deposits of the gemstone were discovered in Brazil. The country is still producing beautiful amethyst and is one of the most important sources of the gemstone. Today, amethyst is most commonly known as the birthstone tied to the month of February.
Color zoning is very common in rough amethyst crystals. This means amethyst grows with distinct bands of darker and lighter shades of purple within the same crystal. The darkest, most saturated purple is usually present at the tips of the formation while the rest of the crystals fades to light violet and colorless. There will be very few vibrant purple faceted gemstone compared to lighter options once the crystal is cut and polished.
Amethyst rates a gemstone hardness of 7 on the Mohs Scale. It is not as durable as sapphire or diamonds, so if you choose to set an amethyst into one of our custom ring settings, it would need to be worn with care and might not be suitable for everyday jewelry. However, this mysterious deep violet amethyst shown here would make a stunning one-of-a-kind right hand ring. This amethyst option is currently featured on our online gemstone list, and is just waiting to be made into a custom created masterpiece!
Take a cue from kings and queens throughout history and let us at Knox Jewelers help you design a custom created piece of jewelry holding this marvelous deep violet amethyst. Visit our online gemstone list and view all of our available amethyst options!
