Amethyst: February Birthstone

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February is the best time to wear purple! Amethyst is this month's birthstone and can range in saturation from very pale to deep intense purple and is mined around the world.

While Amethyst has a hardness of 7, it is a member of the Quartz family and picks up minute scratches over time, causing it to look cloudy or milky. This is fine for jewelry pieces such as earrings and necklaces, but for daily wear rings that get knocked against other objects, this could mean having to replace your gemstone. We generally recommend gems that are 8 or above on the Mohs scale if you plan to wear them daily.

Here at Stag & Finch, we recommend a purple lab sapphire in place of an Amethyst for an everyday birthstone ring. Lab sapphires are both harder and more durable than Amethyst while also being more brilliant. And to make them even more accessible, we'll be featuring our purple storm lab sapphires in our month-long February sale!