Amethyst

This purple quartz is an extremely popular semiprecious stone and it's not hard to see why! Because of its Mohs hardness of 7, amethyst is ideal for uses in jewelry like a cabochon, ring, necklace, bracelet, and earrings.  The name "amethyst" has an ancient Greek origin with the words amethystos meaning "not" and methysko meaning "intoxicate," indicating the belief that the stone guarded against drunkenness. Amethyst forms in geodes in volcanic rocks, most commonly found in Brazil, but also in places like North America, South Korea, Zambia, and Russia.  Amethyst comes in many purples, ranging from such a light purple that it's barely visible to a highly saturated reddish purple or dark purple. The iconic violet color starts to form when iron incorporates into a growing crystal which is that irradiated by gamma rays. Color zoning (color variations within one crystal) happens often and the deepest purple is most often at the crystal termination.  Amethyst is the birthstone for February a