Amethyst

Purple has long been considered a royal color so it is not surprising that amethyst has been so much in demand during history.

Leonardo Da Vinci wrote that amethyst was able to dissipate evil thoughts and quicken the intelligence.
Because amethyst was thought to encourage celibacy and symbolize piety, it was very important in the ornamentation of Catholic and other churches in the Middle Ages. Amethyst was, in particular, considered to be the stone of bishops and some still wear amethyst rings.
Amethyst was considered to be a strong antidote against drunkenness and the gemstone still symbolizes sobriety. Ceremonial wine is frequently drunk from goblets fashioned from it.

The legend of the origin of amethyst comes from a Greek myth.
Bacchus, the god of wine, was angered one day by an insult from a mere mortal and swore revenge on the next mortal that would cross his path. In order to perform this, he created fierce tigers. Along came the 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 of the tigers. Bacchus 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.

Some fine amethysts are featured in the British Crown Jewels, and have been a favorite with such diverse figures as Egyptian royalty to Catherine the Great, who sent thousand of workers to the Uralian mines to search for the best quality, thus creating the "Siberian" grade.

Amethyst is the birthstone for February and the gemstone for the astrological sign of Pisces

Gem localities
Amethyst is mined in Brazil, Uruguay, Bolivia and Argentina, Russia as well as in Zambia, Namibia, Madagascar and other African countries.
Generally, amethyst from South America tends to be available in larger sizes than African amethyst, but amethyst from Africa has the reputation for having a better, more saturated color in the small sizes. Very dark amethyst, mostly in small sizes, is also mined in Australia.
The Anahi Mine in Bolivia is the major world producer of ametrine.

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Agate

The term agate refers only to the translucent type of chalcedony in which the color is distributed in curved bands or layers. Agate is formed when circulating ground waters approaching saturation in silica content fill a cavity in a host rock or dissolve pre-existing material such as bone or shell. As a result, agate is often found in the shape of a round nodule, with concentric bands like the rings of a tree trunk. The bands sometimes look like eyes, sometimes like scallops, or even like a landscape with dendritic trees, the latter variety being called « moss agate .

The name agate comes to us through Latin from the Greek word for the river Achates, in Sicily, where this material was first found in significant quantities.

Agate is one of the first materials known to man. According to legends it makes the wearer agreeable and persuasive. Agate was also said to cure insomnia and give to its owner pleasant dreams.

The Sumerians seem to have been the first to use agate for seals, signet rings, beads and other articles of jewelry. A famous collection of two to four thousand agate bowls, which was accumulated by Mithridates, king of Pontus, shows the enthusiasm with which agate was regarded in the Antiquity.
Agate bowls were also popular in the Byzantine Empire and collecting them became common among European royalty during the Renaissance. Today many museums in Europe have spectacular examples on display.
The Persians, the Arabs and other Oriental people principally used agate for finger rings. Upon these, usually figure a carved verse from the Koran, the owner’s name, or some magical or symbolic figure to protect the owner from a wide variety of calamities.

Gem localities
The mining of agate in the Nahe River valley gave rise to the cutting center of Idar-Oberstein, Germany. Originally, the river was used to power the grinding wheels. When in the nineteenth century the Nahe agate deposit was exhausted, Idar cutters started to develop the agate deposits of Brazil, which sparked the discovery of Brazil's rich deposits of other gemstones, in particular amethyst, citrine, tourmaline, and topaz.
The small town of Idar-Oberstein is still known for the finest agate carving in the world.
Brazil, India, China, Iceland, United States are the main producers today.
Moss agate is found mainly in India and the United States.

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Tiger's Eye

Tiger's eye is a quartz with inclusions of very small quartz crystals that are stained and which replace the crocidolite fiber inclusions of the gem. The presence of the fibrous structure produce a silky sheen when the material is cut. If well cut in cabochon, it can reproduce an "eye" quite well.
If crocidolite has not been completely replaced by silica, the original grayish blue color of crocidolite remains and produces what is called Hawk’s eye or Falcon’s eye.

Gem localities
Sri Lanka South Africa

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Lapis Lazuli

The name of lapis lazuli has international roots. The word lapis is the Latin "lapis" meaning stone, and lazuli comes from an old Arabic word, "allazjward", meaning heaven, sky or simply blue.

Lapis lazuli shares with turquoise the distinction of being among the most prized of all gemstones of earlier civilizations. In a grave from the Indus valley, the lapis ornaments found were dated as 9000 years old.
In Babylonia, Ur and ancient Egypt, lapis was very highly valued. It was believed to cure melancholy and one particular kind of recurrent fever. In Rome it was considered a powerful aphrodisiac.

In South America, the Chilean deposit of lapis lazuli was used by ancient civilizations at least 1500 years B.C.
Lapis powder was extensively used by Roman, Persian and Chinese women to paint their eyebrows.

From the days of ancient Greece and Rome trough to the Renaissance, lapis was pulverized to make a durable pigment called ultramarine, which was used extensively to produce the intense blue of many of the world’s most famous oil paintings. This ultramarine pigment was in use until the nineteenth century when another method to produce this color was found.

Lapis lazuli is the alternative to turquoise and ruby as birthstones for December.
Gem localities

Gem localities
Lapis lazuli is still mined at the ancient deposits in the province of Badakshan, north east of Afghanistan were the best quality is still found.
Lapis is also mined in Chile at the "Flor de los Andes" mine in the region of Coquimbo.
Small quantities are also produced in Siberia, Colorado in the United States, and in Myanmar.

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Carnelian

This variety of chalcedony with colors between red, brownish red, and orange red was said to have the power to drive away evil and bring good luck.
Carnelian was supposedly the right stone for those with weak or timid voices, because it could give them courage to speak boldly and well. It was also said to protect against the envious, and was responsible for making sure the desires of its wearer were gratified.

The popularity of carnelian in the Islamic world may be due to the fact that Mohammad himself wore one as a signet ring.

Carnelian of a dark or brown shade, is called Sard. Sard was thought to provide protection against incantations and sorcery, and was believed to sharpen the wits, rendering the wearer fearless, victorious in his endeavors and happy.

Sardonyx consisting of bands of sard and black and white layers, alternates with peridot as the birthstone for the month of August.

Gem localities
Brazil, India and Uruguay

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Haematite

Haematite is a compact form of iron oxide. It varies considerably in compactness and form. Its hardest and most compact form is what gets used in jewellery as a gemstone. This is black, and is normally found in massive form as nodules, usually kidney shaped (reniform), sometimes known as kidney ore.

When crushed or powdered it becomes red, and its less compact forms ar also red, streak tests are also red.
The compact black forms have specific gravities and hardness at the higher end of the range. The softer forms are used as red pigments, and as jeweller's rouge.

Misnomers
Because of its red streak, it is sometimes known in German as blutstein (bloodstone), but this term is better avoided because of confusion with bloodstone, a variety of chalcedony.

Colour
Gem quality haematite is black, although some describe it as blue-black.
Sources

Gem Locations
One of the main sources is Cleator Moor in Cumbria, England, but it is also found in Elba, the Swiss alps, Germany, Scandinavia, and the USA.
It is carved or polished in Idar Oberstein, but much is now processed in places with lower labour costs.
Imitations
Haematite is sometimes used as beads to imitate black pearls. There are also imitations of haematite, at least one of which produces a red streak.

Haematite in Jewellery
Haematite is often carved as a cameo or sealstone, and is very commonly seen in men's rings with a crude intaglio carving of a helmeted warrior's head. It is also used as a facetted stone when it resembles black diamond. Because it is opaque, only the top of the stone is facetted, the bottom of the stone is usually left flat

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