Gemology and Color:
The color of the purple amethyst is usually the determinant of its market value, thence its contrast to other gems whose values are reliant on the weight. It is the most valuable of all the quartz stones, with the color agent comprising iron. The amethyst can be obtained in a range of purple, violet to a pale red-violet. The stones are readily available in bigger masses which can be scaled to size.
Sources:
Serbia used to be the major provider of richly glossy amethysts, but today Brazil reigns supreme with the "Palmeira" amethysts of Rio Grande do Sul and the "Maraba" amethysts o Para. The stones can also be found in other countries like Bolivia, Canada, India, Madagascar, Mexico, Burma, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Arizona, Uruguay and Zambia.
Treatments and Care:
Dust usually collects on the back, so use a toothbrush to clean them, with mild dish soap. Heat treating the stone produces yellow, red-brown, green or colorless assortments of the stone. Amethyst can make an all-purpose gem without any precautions necessary on its care and a hardness of 7 on the Moh's scale.
Buying Guide:
Look no further than the darker, smaller amethysts of Africa as they fetch much better market prices than those of South America due to their deeply intense coloration. The abundance of the stones is enough assurance that you can always find affordable top class flawless amethysts.
The best buy amethysts are usually the more profoundly colored; the transparent and purple violet with no inclination towards red or blue. Amethysts with medium to dark tones, those that are transparent or the pure violet stones whose shading has no incline to red or blue; are the most expensive. Any jeweler worth their salt will admit that even though African deposits are few, their mines produce some of the darkest most precious amethysts the world has ever seen.
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