Amethyst Crystal Bracelet 5A

Amethyst is the violet variety of quartz. SiO₂. Trigonal crystal system. Mohs hardness 7. The colour comes from iron held in the quartz lattice, worked on by natural radiation over geological time - colour centres that give the stone its range from faint lilac to near-black purple.

It forms in gas cavities within volcanic basalt. The great Brazilian and Uruguayan geodes grew inside cooling lava flows of the Paraná province, around 130 million years old; silica-rich water deposited quartz on the cavity walls, and the colour deepened toward the crystal tips. The colour is often zoned for exactly this reason.

A note on citrine: most commercial citrine on the market is heat-treated amethyst, turned yellow to orange in a kiln. The amethyst here is untreated - the colour is the one the stone grew with.

Asked often

Is the amethyst genuine and untreated?
Yes. The colour is the one the stone grew with - not dyed, not heat-altered. Most commercial citrine is heat-treated amethyst; this is left as it was found.

Why does the colour look uneven between beads?
Amethyst grows with its colour zoned, deepest toward the crystal tips. The variation from bead to bead is the stone itself, not a fault.

Will the colour fade?
Prolonged strong sunlight can pale amethyst over time. Rest it out of direct sun when it is not worn, and the colour holds.

Can I wear it every day?
Yes. At Mohs 7, quartz is hard and wears well. Keep the cord dry - remove before swimming, bathing, or applying scent.

1. Worn on either wrist. The beads sit on a durable elastic cord and slip over the hand.
2. Wipe with a soft, slightly damp cloth and dry. Quartz is hard and wears well.
3. Rest the bracelet out of direct sun when it is not worn - prolonged strong sunlight can soften amethyst's colour over time.

Many traditions rinse or air their stones from time to time; that is a matter of preference, and the rest is yours. The stone itself asks only to be kept dry and clear of knocks against harder surfaces.

The elastic cord lasts longest kept dry - remove before swimming, bathing, or applying scent. Do not soak.

• Stone: Amethyst · violet quartz
• Composition: SiO₂ · silicon dioxide
• Crystal system: Trigonal
• Hardness: Mohs 7
• Colour: Pale lilac to deep violet · often zoned
• Treatment: None · untreated
• Band: Durable elastic cord
• Origin: Brazil
• Care: Wipe with a soft cloth · keep dry · rest out of direct sunlight

The Greek name amethystos meant "not drunk." Across the classical Mediterranean the stone was carried as a guard against excess - Greeks and Romans carved it into drinking cups and signet rings, in the belief that it kept the head clear at the table. The association runs back to a Greek myth in which the maiden Amethystos is turned to clear crystal.

It was one of the cardinal gems of antiquity, set into the most important jewellery of Greece, Rome, and later Europe, and named by Pliny in the first century. For most of that history Europe's amethyst came from Russia and Germany; the great Brazilian supply arrived only in the nineteenth century. What the stone has meant to the people who carried it is theirs, and now yours, to decide.