From the Fun Trivia Jewel Box :The Amethyst Quiz

Answer: To enrich the color

Almost all amethyst are heat treated to enrich the color. High quality stones are a deep medium purple with rose colored flashes. The heating process is an exacting process. If heated at too high a heat or for too long the stone can turn various shades of golden brown. Radium radiation is also used to darken some stones which are very light in color.

These stones are known to lose their color and should not be worn while sunbathing, while under a black light or in a solarium.

Answer: Amethyst was believed to keep you from getting drunk

The name amethyst comes from Ancient Greek and means "not intoxicated". It was believed in many Mediterranean cultures that drinking wine from an amethyst cup would prevent the drinker from becoming drunk. There is an ancient Greek saga which tells the story of the goddess Diana who turned a nymph into amethyst because Bacchus, the god of wine, was in love with her. Since that time the amethyst has also been known as the Bacchus stone.

As with all ancient myths there are many variations of this story including the stones being colored by tears of wine that were wept by Bacchus.

Answer: Brazil

While amethyst is mined on every continent except Antarctica, the largest mines are found in Brazil. Brazil has many amethyst mines of various sizes and produce the most amethyst in the world. The largest opencast amethyst mine is found in southern Austria, and there are mines in Canada, Australia, Zambia and Korea. For centuries, the highest quality amethyst were known as "deep Russian amethyst" and were mined in small areas of Siberia.

They are almost impossible to find anymore and are usually only available in a piece of antique jewelry.

Answer: Aquarius

Amethyst is the birth stone for the sign of Aquarius also known as "the water bearer". The amethyst was believed to make a wearer more gentle and amiable, both are traits associated with this sign. Amethyst is also the birthstone for the month of February.

Answer: The worlds largest amethyst geode

"The Empress of Uruguay" is, at 2.5 tons (2,500 kg), the world's largest amethyst geode. This beautiful creation of mother nature stand 11 ft. or 3.27 meters tall. Although originally mined in Uruguay, this beautiful stone is on display at The Crystal Cave in Atherton, Queensland, Australia.

Answer: Purple was considered a royal color

For centuries purple was considered a royal color. This was mostly because there were very few things in nature that could be used to dye something purple, and not many things in nature were naturally purple in color. In many cultures only royalty were allowed to wear amethyst. For many years, bishops in the Catholic Church wore an amethyst ring as a sign of their spirituality.

Answer: The discovery of large amounts of the stone in the New World

With the discovery of the New World, referring to North and South America, amethyst became much more available and much easier to mine. It was no longer as rare as it had been and became available to the general population. While it may have lost some status throughout time, it must be remembered that tastes change. Amethyst has remained a popular stone to use in jewelry, especially as it is one of the very few purple gemstones.

Answer: False

Amethyst rates a seven on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, which makes it hard enough and durable enough to use in jewelry. On this scale, diamonds are rated as the hardest substance and given a 10, while talc is the softest mineral and is given a one.

While it is not as hard as sapphire, topaz or diamond, it is shown throughout the years that it is hard enough to stand the test of time, is not prone to losing its color, nor does it fracture easily. There are quite a few gemstones that are softer than the amethyst including opal and apatite. Amethyst can and has been used in all types of jewelry and collectables for thousands of years.

Answer: Roman soldiers

Roman soldiers carried amethyst as a protective measure believing that it had protective properties and aided in the healing of injuries. These were usually raw uncut amethyst stones as opposed to faceted stones as is seen in modern jewelry. Occasionally, it was a small intaglio engraved gem, which looked like a modern cameo.

It was stored inside a small bag or on the body as opposed to being displayed as a piece of jewelry for all to see.

Answer: True

As odd as this may sound, it is true. An ametrine is created when a slight change in the mineral causes the gem crystal to change from purple to golden-yellow and vice-versa. A good gem-cutter can take this type of crystal and cut it so that you end up with a stone that is purple on one end and yellow on the other.

The change is not gradual, but sudden. There is occasionally a very thin line of crystal with no color at all between the two colors. Both amethyst and citrine are quartz which gain their color from small amounts of secondary minerals found in the crystal.

This type of stone is usually faceted into an emerald cut in order to show off this unusual feature.