Before making a purchase considering an Amethyst's color is pivotal to the process of evaluation, an Amethyst's clarity comes second. Taste in color is a personal matter, so while the following points are verified facts from the gemstone world they are also up for contention, and in no way are intended to restrict your personal preferences.

Some think that when buying an Amethyst, as a gem alone or set into jewelry, the darker the color the better the gem: False. If an Amethyst is too dark and subdued it's lifeless, lacking all the qualities for which it is renowned. Go for rich, bright, vivid colors: with clear medium-tones.

What if the color of an Amethyst is enhanced by heat treatment?

Heat treatments, wrongly construed as being artificial, mirror the exact same processes that occur in nature. In today's gem and jewelry industry heat treatments that have proven to be stable are widely practiced and accepted.

Amethyst usually undergoes no treatments and is one of the few affordable 'Natural' gemstones available on the market today. However, sometimes this is not the case .
. Very dark natural amethysts are sometimes heated to produce lighter shades. This makes them more desirable and also allows for consistent colors that can be matched for use in ewelry.
. Very light purple amethyst can be heated to produce citrine and, to a lesser extent, green quartz.
. If the amethyst contains color zoning, a color concentration that conforms to crystallographic growth patterns, these areas can be heated to give a dramatic color change effect.