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been
obtained. Delaware and Chester counties, Pennsylvania, have furnished
good amethysts, as well as Haywood County, North Carolina. One of the
best known localities for amethyst in America is Thunder Bay, on the
north shore of Lake Superior. Crystallized amethyst is found here in
large quantities coating veins in the rock. While many of the crystals
are highly colored they are not uniform in color and lack clearness, so
that few good gems have been obtained here.
Amethyst
was much more highly prized in former times than now, probably on
account of its greater scarcity then. A celebrated amethyst necklace,
owned by Queen Charlotte, of England, which was valued at the time it
was made at $10,000, would probably be worth hardly $500 now. In spite
of the comparative abundance of amethyst at the present time there is a
constant demand for good stones, since no other gem affords its
charming violet color. One dollar a carat is an average price for
amethyst at the present day, and this value remains about the same even
with an increase in size of the stones, as large amethysts are
comparatively common. The step cut is usually adopted for amethyst,
and is well • adapted to it. Brilliants are, however, common, and the
mixed cut also often gives a good effect. Amethyst was often worn in
the Middle Ages as an amulet and preserver of the wearer in battle. It
was supposed to be serviceable to persons having petitions to make to
princes, and to be a preventive of hailstorms and locusts. It has also
long figured as a pious or episcopal gemr being the stone
which is regarded as imparting especial dignity or beauty to the
property of the church. It is a gem especially sacred to St. Valentine,
he being said always to have worn one.
Rose Quartz. This
form of quartz, the color of which is indicated by its name, is rarely
of sufficient transparency to be prized as a gem. Cut, however, into
various ornaments, it makes objects of considerable beauty. Its luster,
instead of being glassy like that of other forms of quartz, is nearly
always more or less greasy. The ingredient which gives it color is not
known. v' It is probably some organic matter, since the
color disappears on heating and, unfortunately for the extended use of
the stone, often fades considerably on exposure to light. Unlike other
varieties of pheno-crystalline quartz, rose quartz has never yet been
found in the form of distinct crystals. There are numerous localities
whence rose quartz of good color may be obtained, although it is not of
so common occurrence as most other varieties of quartz. The best rose
quartz in this country comes from Oxford County, Maine, and the Black
Hills. Foreign localities are the Urals, Brazil, and Ceylon.
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