CIBJO invites you to join the 20th Home Gemmology webinar,
shedding light on the world of amethyst
Taking place in two sessions on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, the upcoming Home Gemmology webinar will be presented by Rui Galopim de Carvalho, and co-hosted by Edward Johnson. It will be devoted to the subject of amethyst.
Among the oldest gem varieties known to have been used jewellery in the ancient world, the violet to purple stone has adorned simple rings, as well as the most intricate of royal tiaras. It also is popular with gem carvers.
The webinar will consider sources of amethyst. With the deposits from the old mines in Europe all but exhausted, the gem has been found elsewhere in enormous quantities from as far back at the 1700s and 1800s, notably in Brazil, Uruguay and Russia.
Synthetic amethyst will also be discussed. Widely available since the 1970s, these materials can pose identification challenges, but nothing that gemmology is not able to sort out.