The British Crown Jewels contains, among other stones, the stunning purple Amethyst. With the colour purple closely connected to Royalty throughout the years it was a perfect choice. Catherine The Great was said to be a very big fan of this stunning purple stones as were the wealthy Egyptians.

Amethyst is a form of quartz. Its transparent purple colour makes this the most imperative quartz variety used in jewellery.
Amethyst’s were very important within the Catholic Church and others in the Middle Ages. It was used as a decoration and the bishops and priest would often wear an Amethyst ring. Back then it was known as a symbol of goodness and celibacy and therefore was used a lot with the ornamentation of the churches. Rosaries have been made from Amethyst on Tibet as it is a precious stone that is thought to be sacred to Buddha.

“Amethystos” a Greek word which means “not drunken”. The Greeks believed that Amethyst was an antidote for being drunk! Consequently wine glasses and goblets were carved from Amethyst, which to this day is still a symbol of soberness.

Amethyst can range in colour from a very pretty pale lilac to a beautiful rich deep purple. The paler colours can be called "Rose de France" and was very popular in jewellery in the Victorian times . The deeper colours are the most expensive, particularly a rich purple Amethyst containing rose flashes.

Amethyst mines are in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, as well as in Zambia and other African countries.

Generally, the amethyst that comes from South America is available in much larger sizes than the African amethyst. Although, Africa has the high reputation for having much better quality which have highly saturated colours, but they are in smaller sizes. The very dark stunning amethyst, again in smaller sizes, is mined in Australia.