Handmade Amethyst Jewellery – The February Birthstone. Amethyst, the birthstone for February is a type of quartz and ranges in colour from an almost colourless lilac to a rich velvety purple and is the most valuable of the quartzes. It lends itself well to all kinds of jewellery including: stacking rings, unusual dress rings and even engagement rings. The tone of the colour in amethyst is affected by the level of iron impurities contained within it, though can also be affected by irradiation (used to produce synthetic amethyst) and heat. Heating a natural purple coloured amethyst can cause the stone to resemble a citrine, which is yellow / brown in colour. The best quality natural amethyst comes from the Russian Siberian Ural
mountains and has a rich purple colour known as ‘Deep Siberian’. The highest grades are very rare, though not as valuable as the highest grade sapphires or rubies. Other sources of good quality stones are Sri Lanka and Brazil. The name ‘Amethyst’ is rooted in Greek, who held a cultural belief that the semi-precious stone protected its owner from drunkenness. Amethyst has been used to produce jewellery since Egyptian times and continues to be used widely today.
Pruden and Smith have created some stunning contemporary designs using amethyst, and not only do we have amethyst jewellery in stock for a February birthday, we can also undertake commissions. A selection of our current designs can be seen at prelive.prudenandsmith.com