I'm sure you realize by now my favorite color is purple. I love all shades of purple with lavender and violet probably being my two favorites. Most of the jewelry I own is amethyst jewelry. I have some really pretty genuine amethyst jewelry, a variety of cz purple jewelry, lavender cz jewelry and Swarovski purple crystal jewelry. Often I'll wear a combination of my genuine amethyst jewelry with either my cz purple colored jewelry or purple crystal jewelry and think they all look really pretty together.

Thought I'd share with you a little of what I already knew about amethysts and some new information I've learned researching amethysts while making this site. The definition of amethyst is a purple or violet form of transparent quartz used as a gemstone. A purple variety of corundum used as a gemstone. It's valued as a semiprecious gem for it's violet color. The color is due to it containing a little more iron oxide than any other variety of quartz. Heating removes that color changing it to citrine. Notable deposits of amethysts are found in Brazil, North Carolina, Ontario and Uruguay. Amethyst is the birthstone of February and is the gemstone for the 6th year anniversary. It's worn by high-ranking members of the Catholic church and throughout history has been a favorite of royalty. Leonardo Di Vinci said that an amethyst gets rid of evil thoughts and brings forward intelligence. Hmmmm so by wearing my amethyst jewelry according to him, I'll become a lot smarter.

Legend of the origin of amethyst comes from Greek myths. Dionysius, the god of intoxication, was angered by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal that crossed his path, creating fierce tigers to carry out his wish. Along came unsuspecting Amethyst, a beautiful young maiden on her way to pay tribute to the goddess Diana. Diana turned Amethyst into a statue of pure crystalline quartz to protect her from the brutal claws. Dionysus wept tears of wine in remorse for his action at the sight of the beautiful statue. The god's tears stained the quartz purple, creating the gem we know today.

Other Purple Jewelry

Other types of purple jewelry are rhodolite, garnet, iolite, lavender jade, tanzanite and tourmaline jewelry. Tanzanite is a bluish purple variety of the mineral zoisite from Tanzania. Maasai tribesmen discovered it in 1967. They believe it is the stone of birth because of the color and is given to wives after having their first nany.

Glossary of some jewelry terms involving amethyst jewelry and other purple jewelry

Cz is a simulated diamond. When they were first made they were clear but today come in a lot of different colors. Lavender cz jewelry is definitely a favorite of mine. Cz jewelry looks quite similar to diamonds and has many similarities. They are a little softer but will weigh more than a diamond and are able to be cut into different shapes as a diamond is.

Gold.

I think most of us are well aware of gold so doubt if I need to tell you too much about it. An easy guide to remember when selecting gold jewelry is that the lower the karat weight the more copper or silver it will contain and the higher the karat weight the softer the gold is. Pure gold is 24 karat. Others are 22k, 18k, 14k and 10k. I'm fortunate to own a little bit of 18k jewelry and love it. It is definitely softer or more delicate than 10k or 14k gold. That's something to keep in mind when purchasing gold. White gold refers to an alloy of gold and other metals such as nickel, palladium or silver. It's natural color is light gray and slightly yellow so most times it is coated in rhodium, giving it a shine.

Rhodium

Rhodium is hard silvery white in color durable metal that is a member of the platinum family. It is often electroplated to sterling silver or white gold to add extra shine.

Sterling Silver

Sterling silver is an alloy of 92.5% silver and 7.5% other metals. Copper, nickel or zinc being the other metals. Fine silver (99%) is too soft so sterling silver is used for making jewelry.

A few other jewelry terms

Briolette - tear drop shape with facets all around it. A nice choice for earrings or a pendant.

Cushion cut - rectangular shape

Trillion - triangular shaped

*I obtained this information from Webster's dictionary.

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Kathy@purplebearsjewelry.com