Lavender Amethyst

Lavender amethyst is amethyst in a very pale shade, somewhere between lilac and lavender. Mineralogically it is exactly the same stone: quartz colored by iron and natural radiation, only less intensely.

In the trade this shade is sometimes called "Rose de France". According to Wikipedia, the pale shades of amethyst were once considered undesirable, and only recently became popular, mostly thanks to intensive marketing. So it used to be the shade sold at a discount; now it has a French name.

In professional grading, according to Wikipedia, the most sought-after amethyst is called "Deep Siberian": a deep purple with flashes of blue and red. Lavender sits at the other end of the scale. But beauty is a matter of taste, and this shade has something soft and quiet that deep purple does not.

Like all amethyst, lavender amethyst can fade with long exposure to strong light, and in a stone that is pale to begin with, that is worth watching even more. On the other hand, it has a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale, so it is suitable for everyday wear.

For the rest of the story, from the Greeks who believed amethyst prevented drunkenness to the achlamah in the High Priest's breastplate, see the amethyst page.