New amethyst jewellery for February birthdays

By Kim Parker

After years of association with souvenir accessories, amethyst jewellery is officially having a moment. Kim Kardashian recently purchased Princess Diana’s favourite jewels, the Attallah Cross, at Sotheby’s in January. The cross is made of large, square-cut amethysts and it put the purple gemstone back under fashion’s spotlight.

The stone was actually a great choice for the reigning queen of reality television. Adored for their hue for centuries, amethysts have been traditionally worn by royalty as a symbol of their status, whilst the ancient Egyptians carved it into animal shapes to wear on protective amulets to ward off bad luck. The ancient Greeks prized for its supposed power to curb the effects of too much alcohol (its name is actually derived from the Green “amethysts”, meaning “not intoxicated”). They even drank from vessels made of the carved mineral in the belief that it would keep them sober. A myth about Bacchus, the god of wine, denotes that he once poured the contents of his cup over a maiden who had been transformed into a crystal, staining it a deep violet colour.

Though most commonly thought of as purple, this variety of quartz actually comes in a palette of pretty shades, from mint green and pale lavender to a deep, bluish aubergine. It’s the stone associated with the month of February (St. Valentine was said to have worn an amethyst ring carved with the image of cupid) as well as to healing energy, purity of spirit and enhanced clarity of the mind. All of which makes it an ideal gift for anyone celebrating a February birthday – and we just happen to have the perfect edit of beautiful amethyst jewellery right here.

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