Famous Gems In Shades Of Purple

Color Of The Amethyst

The color purple has long since been associated with royalty, luxury, nobility and power. You only have to take a look around the Smithsonian Institution, National museum of natural history to find this to be true. Their gem gallery is home to some of the most famous Amethyst gems in the world dating back to the early 1900’s. February is the month that has been endowed with the Amethyst as its birthstone so if you are wondering what to buy for your loved one in this romantic month, then take a look at the wonderful amethyst gem for ideas. The amethyst is part of the quartz family and in its pure state has no color. What gives the purple color is a small amount of iron atoms that take the place of the original silicon atoms present. The amethyst is also the most valuable of the quartz family and the most valuable ones have flashes of red in them.

Symbolism And Significance

Red is said to represent fierce energy however Roman mythologists believe the deep purple was given to the amethyst by the god of wine thus to protect you against drunkenness. This goes hand-in-hand with the Greek derivative of its name which means “not to intoxicate.” Lighter hues invoke feelings of romance, energy and feminine delicacy while the deeper shades bring out frustration, irritability, sadness and often negativity. Whether you believe that a gem has the ability to change your mood or not, there is no denying the fact that the amethyst was most definitely a good choice for the February birthstone. It might just bring out a hidden confidence that you did not know was there.

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Where Found And Uses

Many of the most important deposits of this gemstone have been found in Brazil, Madagascar, Zambia as well as many other places all over the world. This stone is also used for beads, ornamental objects as well as in jewelry with various settings.

Famous Amethyst Gems

One famous piece is the Morris Amethyst brooch which sports a 96-carat heart shaped amethyst, beautifully surrounded by diamonds. Another magnificent amethyst piece housed in the Smithsonian is a 56-carat square, cushion-cut amethyst necklace that displays the deep purple color of the amethyst with the rare flashes of red that gives so much value to this gemstone. Other adornments that were made for royalty giving the amethyst pride of place was the amethyst and turquoise necklace that was made for the Duchess of Windsor in 1947 as well as the magnificent tiara that was originally owned by Empress Josephine of France and then worn by Sweden’s queen Silvia.

Amethyst In History

You only need to look at some of the famous Amethyst pieces to see why the Amethyst gem is favored by many royals and was King Edward VII’s wife, Alexandra’s favorite stone. The 56-carat Square gem is said to have most likely been acquired by Tiffany’s chief gemologist, George Kunz, at that time and is an example of the beautiful Art Nouveau style of jewelry that was being produced at the turn of the century..