Amethyst is a variety of the quartz family that gets its beautiful purple colour from the presence of iron when the gemstone was being formed. It ranges in colour from a light lilac or pale lavender to a beautiful deep purple, generally it’s considered the deeper the shade of purple the more valuable the stone. Amethyst is the birthstone of February or Pisces and is believed to promote intelligence. In Ancient Greece the semi-precious gemstone was believed to protect its owner from the effects of alcohol. It was also thought to posses the ability to neutralize and poisons or toxins if the liquid was drunk from an amethyst cup. When heat is applied to the lighter shades of this semi-precious gemstone it becomes green Amethyst.