February Birthstone: Amethyst Jewelry

Amethyst, and it has been February's stone consistently across both the modern list and the older traditional ones - one of the few months with no ambiguity at all.

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz, coloured by trace iron and natural irradiation during its formation.

Its association with February goes back a long way, and the stone carried considerable prestige historically, when it was far rarer than it is today.

The most valued material is a strong, even purple at a medium to medium-dark tone, ideally with flashes of red or blue in the colour.

Very pale stones lack presence, and very dark stones close up under indoor light - which matters, since that is where jewellery is mostly seen.

Evenness counts for as much as depth. A stone whose colour reads consistently across the face is worth more than a darker one that shows pale patches.

Because quartz is one of the most abundant minerals on earth, and amethyst is simply its purple variety. Good material is available in quantity and in large sizes.

That abundance is what makes a large, clean, richly coloured amethyst attainable in a way that a comparable stone in a rarer species would not be.

It also has a history: amethyst was genuinely precious until large deposits were found in Brazil in the nineteenth century, after which the price fell sharply. The stone did not change; the supply did.

It can, with prolonged exposure to strong light. This is the one real vulnerability of the stone and it is worth knowing about.

Ordinary wear is not a problem. What causes fading is sustained exposure - a piece left on a sunny windowsill for months rather than one worn outdoors.

Heat is a related concern: strong heating can change amethyst's colour outright, which is in fact how much commercial citrine is made. Keep it away from heat sources and out of steam cleaners.

A checkerboard cut places a grid of small square facets across the top of the stone, usually on a flat or gently domed surface, rather than the single large table of a traditional cut.

The effect is a livelier, more broken-up play of light across the surface and a distinctly contemporary look.

It suits amethyst particularly well because the style needs a decent-sized stone to work, and amethyst is available in size at a sensible price.

It can be, and plenty of people choose it. At 7 on the Mohs scale amethyst is hard enough for regular wear, and a protective setting - a bezel, or a lower profile - makes a real difference to how it holds up.

The honest caveat is that an engagement ring is worn constantly for decades, which is more than most stones face. Amethyst will show wear over that timescale in a way that sapphire or diamond will not.

Many people take that trade deliberately, for the colour or the meaning, and simply accept that the stone may want replacing or repolishing eventually.

Colour zoning is characteristic of the species. Amethyst crystals often grow with the colour concentrated in bands or strongest toward the tip.

A skilled cutter orients the stone so that what you see face-up reads as one even colour, which is why cutting matters more in amethyst than its price suggests.

Well-cut material shows even colour. If a stone shows visible pale patches from the front, it has been cut to save weight rather than to show the colour.

White gold and platinum give purple a clean, cool background and make the colour read as crisp and contemporary.

Yellow gold warms the stone and is the traditional pairing - it makes an amethyst look richer and more classical, and it is what most antique amethyst jewellery uses.

Rose gold is the most deliberate choice of the three and works particularly well with lighter lilac stones, where the warm metal and the soft purple sit close together.

Yes, with a little thought about the setting. At 7 on the Mohs scale it handles regular wear, and in earrings, a pendant or a necklace it needs no special consideration at all.

In a ring worn daily, a bezel or a lower profile protects the stone's edges and makes a real difference over years.

Take a ring off for manual work and cleaning, keep the piece away from heat and prolonged strong light, and it will look the same in a decade as it does now.

Warm water, a little mild soap and a soft brush, then a thorough rinse and a soft cloth.

Do not use a steam cleaner - heat is the one thing that can genuinely alter amethyst's colour. Ultrasonic cleaning is also best avoided, since amethyst commonly carries internal features that sudden vibration can worsen.

Keep it away from household cleaning chemicals, and store it apart from harder stones, which will scratch it in a drawer as readily as in wear.