The stone of February is the amethyst. But this gem also it like in the other 11 months of the year. Discover the qualities of the amethyst in this article ♦
Has always been considered a sort of talisman: Sumerians and Babylonians and Egyptians wore amulets made with amethyst for protection, and for the ancient Chinese was a material with which to store spices, healing balms and ointments. In nature this variety of quartz is found inside of stony masses and quarries, geodes, crystals containing groupings. One of the most famous is the one discovered in Brazil in the area of Rio Grande Sol, 30 meters long and 15 meters completely covered with amethyst crystals width, so large that it must be dug in the ground. Amethyst is also the stone of February.
The color range. It is truly remarkable, ranging from light pink to deep purple with many intermediate shades, as the example lavender or lilac, christened Rose de France, or the darkest shade almost bluish shades from red or pink typical of the stones from Russia , whose mines are now exhausted. Then there are amethysts Uruguay and Arizona with a deep blue-purple, the Zambian light purple. All owe their color to iron impurities. Some are two-tone, gold and purple, are called ametryne, and consist of quartz citrine and amethyst. Others, are green and are baptized prisiolite.
Origin. There are many mineral sources, practically in almost all over the world, but the most important producers are Brazil, Uruguay, Madagascar and Zambia. A good quality stones are also found in the United States, South Korea and Austria.
Rating. Until the 18th century it was considered a precious gem as much as a diamond, a sapphire, an emerald or a ruby. The most valuable specimens came from the Ural Mountains of Russia, but the discovery of large deposits in Brazil and other countries has largely decreased the price. Currently the main evaluation criterion is the color: the more intense and more uniform the quality. Attention to the nuances, must be neither brown nor gray.
Purity. It is a gem of type II, so it can have slight inclusions visible to the naked eye but if its dark color hides, it becomes more difficult in the pink variety, lavender or green. It is often found in large, it can be up to 20 carats, and is almost always natural because the heat treatment and thus the cost of such a convenient stone does not make sense.
