Amethyst

AMETHYST is the birthstone for the month of February. The name amethyst is from the Greek "amethystos" meaning " not drunken" because the ancient Greeks believed drinking from an amethyst cup would prevent intoxication. Leonardo da Vinci believed that amethyst could quicken the intelligence. Amethyst has also been said to prevent excessive stomach acid and beautify the skin. Purple has long been considered a royal color, so amethyst has been much in demand throughout history. Fine amethysts are featured in the British Crown Jewels and came to occupy a very prominent position in the ornaments of clergy, in particular bishops and cardinals. Amethysts were also esteemed as stones of friendship.

NOTE: Stones on this page were photographed under 5000 Kelvin "daylight" lighting.
For maximum color accuracy, descriptions were made in north-facing natural daylight,
indoors, between 11am-2pm, at 32.89°N latitude.

COLOR: Wherever possible, a similar Pantone Color Card number has been used, NOT the Pantone colors online,
which necessarily use RGB approximations, are grayer, and not at all the same.
Since color is so subjective to lighting conditions, and light is in turn subjective to location,
descriptions and pictures are intended to give a general idea of actual color.
To know what these stones really look like, there is no substitute for seeing them in person.