The story is told that Bacchus, the Greek god of
wine, was insulted one day by a mortal. Enraged,
he called forth vicious tigers to exact revenge on the next mortal who would cross his
path. This unfortunate individual was the
maiden Amethyst who was on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana and found herself
face to face with the tigers of the vengeful Bacchus.
To save her from the beasts, Diana turned the innocent girl into a stature
of pure crystalline quartz. Amethyst was so
beautiful that Dionysus, in sorrow and remorse, wept tears of rich wine over the statue. His tears stained the quartz creating the gem which
still bears her name. In folklore, Amethyst is believed to keep you clear headed and,
traditionally, it symbolized peace and tranquility.
The only active amethyst mine in North America is nestled in
the four peaks of the Mazatzal Mountains forty miles northeast of Phoenix, Arizona. This twenty acre mine site is gated and trespassing
is prohibited. Due to the remote location of
this mine, supplies for the miners must be flown in by helicopter. The major sources for amethyst are Africa and South
America.
Amethyst has such a wide color range that there is a shade that
works for practically everyone; from the deep purple hues that work well for those who go
for the bolder gem tones to the pale lavender for those who prefer lighter shades and more
whimsical color schemes and all the lovely shades in between. That may be one reason why
amethyst is the most popular of the quartz family of gemstones and continues to enjoy a
wide appeal year after year. Other reasons may
be its beauty, affordability and stability. Amethyst
is rated “good” for everyday wear and scores 7 on the Moh’s Hardness scale
for gemstones with diamond scoring 10.
