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
HMS Amethyst (1799) days. Still, the ship was too badly damaged to salvage and by 10 March wave action had broken up the hull. The subsequent court martial found Walton and Robert Owen, the master, negligent and reprimanded both for allowing "Amethyst" to be anchored so close to shore with only one anchor. The court also barred Owen for a year from serving in anything larger than a sixth rate. Notes Citations References HMS Amethyst (1799) HMS "Amethyst" was a Royal Navy 36-gun "Penelope"-class fifth-rate frigate, launched in 1799 at Deptford. "Amethyst" served in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars, capturing