Amethyst, Approx. 17.7cwt. Natural Earth Mined. 21x17.4x12.4mm. Unheated. See Video.

Why we only sell earth mined gems. Amethyst. Expect minor flaws and inclusions. Flawless genuine gems are rare and expensive. Flawless fakes and man made gems are plentiful and cheap.. Why Settle for Imitations? Personally, I prefer the very light amethyst to the very dark.... more fire. But it is a personal choice. Especially cut for us. This gem is approx. 17.7 Please read the IMPORTANT TERMS AND INFORMATION page at least once as it applies to all listings. ANY questions, please ask.

Amethyst, a form of quartz, is the birth stone for those born in February. Amethyst is 7 on the mohs scale.
Amethyst is said to protect it's owner from drunkenness ( must confess...never worked for me! :-) The name comes from the Greek for Not Intoxicated.
In Greek legend, the wine god Bacchus, angry over an insult and determined to avenge himself, decreed the first person he should meet would be devoured by his tigers. This happened to be a beautiful maiden named Amethyst on her way to worship at the shrine of Diana. As the tigers attacked, she sought the protection of the gods and was saved by being turned into a clear, white crystal. Bacchus, regretting his cruelty, poured the juice of his grapes over the stone as an offering; giving the gem its lovely purple hue.
In reality, the purple color comes from natural earth irradiation and some iron impurities. It is a symbol of faithful love, and at some times in history was valued so much it was worth more than diamonds.

Amethyst wholesales to the trade today for a 1 cwt stone from a cost of approx. $4 for a very low grade stone to approx. $50 for an extra fine example. The price goes up to approx. $60 per cwt. for extra fine larger examples. The retail price will be several times that, depending on the retailers markup.

NOTE: Supply and demand rules in true gem buying as in every other human investment.
Each earth mined gem is a unique work of art, unlike the lab produced stones that can be produced in unlimited quantities.
Some people will never understand why people buy an original work of art when they can buy a poster for next to nothing.
Earth mined gems are for those that do. Invest in quality.