Oldest Gemstone | Discount Loose Gemstones

Due to their relative abundance, quartz gemstones are quite affordable, with Amethyst being the most expensive variety. Amethyst can vary in price from $2 to $100 per carat depending on the color, quality, and cut, and may be the oldest gemstone known to man. European rock crystal objects have been unearthed with remains of prehistoric man dating back as far as 20,000 BC. The Egyptians frequently used Amethyst as beads, good luck charms, and seals which date back to before 3100 BC.

Amethyst is classified by mineralogists as a variety of crystalline or crystallized quartz, which occurs as regular crystals or as coarse aggregates that are often visible to the naked eye. Quartz can also be composed of crystals so tiny that they can only be seen if you view a thin slice of the crystal under a high magnification and polarized light. This type of quartz is called Chalcedony, or more technically cryptocrystalline or microcrystalline quartz.

Amethyst is commonly found in United States, Britain, Brazil, Bolivia, India, Uruguay, and Zambia. Synthetic Amethyst, along with its cousin Citrine and other colors of synthetic quartz are made in Japan and especially Russia. Amethyst can be heated to lighten its color or to transform it into Citrine and sometime green quartz (referred to as Green Amethyst). Green and Yellow Quartz can be irradiated to product Amethyst, which may fade from heat treatment if it’s exposed too long. Sunlight can also lighten Amethyst. Poor quality material is usually tumbled to make beads, and if a stone is pale in color, it may be set in a closed setting or have foil placed underneath the stone to enhance color. Amethyst is commonly imitated by glass and synthetic corundum.