Amethyst was used as a gemstone by the ancient Egyptians and was largely employed in antiquity for intaglio engraved gems.

The Greeks believed amethyst gems could prevent intoxication, while medieval European soldiers wore amethyst amulets as protection in battle – the reason for this being that amethysts are believed to heal people and keep them cool-headed. Beads of amethyst were found in Anglo-Saxon graves in England.

Amethyst is the traditional birthstone for February.

Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light pinkish violet to a deep purple. Amethyst may exhibit one or both secondary hues, red and blue. The ideal grade is called "Deep Siberian" and has a primary purple hue of around 75–80%, 15–20% blue and (depending on the light source) red secondary hues. Green quartz is sometimes incorrectly called green amethyst, which is an actual misnomer and not an acceptable name for the material, the proper terminology being prasiolite. It is actually against FTC Guidelines to call prasiolite green amethyst. Other names for green quartz are pvermarine, greened amethyst, or lime citrine.

Of very variable intensity, the color of amethyst is often laid out in stripes parallel to the final faces of the crystal. The fact that sometimes only a thin surface layer of violet color be presents in the stone or that this color is not homogeneous, makes often a difficult cutting. The art of lapidary is to place the color correctly in order to make homogeneous the tone of cut stones.