Amethyst Amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek ἀμέθυστος "amethystos" from ἀ- "a-", "not" and μεθύσκω "methysko" / μεθύω "methyo", "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness. The ancient Greeks wore amethyst and carved drinking vessels from it in the belief that it would prevent intoxication. Amethyst is a semiprecious stone often used in jewelry and is the traditional birthstone for February. Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz (SiO) and owes its violet color to irradiation, iron impurities (in some cases in conjunction with transition
Amethyst Initiative Amethyst Initiative The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors that in July 2008 launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S. legal drinking age, particularly the minimum age of 21. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 requires all US states to raise their minimum age for purchase and public possession of alcohol to 21 or face a reduction in highway funds under the Federal-Aid Highway Act. The Amethyst Initiative was initiated by John McCardell, founder of Choose Responsibility, a former professor of history at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont and