Birthstone - February - Amethyst

Mohs scale of hardness - 7

Colour - Varies from deep purple to light violet

Cut - As cabochons or as faceted gemstones

Found - as large single crystals in deposits in Brazil, Bolivia, Sri Lanka

Care Tip - Amethyst shouldn't be left out in strong light as this may cause it to fade

Amethyst is the birthstone for February it is also the gem for the 6th & 17th wedding anniversaries.

Early Greek legends associated amethyst with the god of wine Bacchus because of its colour. The Greek word amethystos can be translated as “not drunken” or “not intoxicated” it was believed to prevent drunkenness, to help you keep a clear head and so wine goblets were often carved from it.

In antiquity the most valued gemstones were known as The Cardinal Gems, they included the expected and most coveted gems that we associate with precious such as diamond, emerald, ruby, sapphire and during these times also amethyst. They were valued for their rarity, religious authority and magical powers and considered a symbol of royalty where it was used to embellish English regalia until the 19th Century. Then in the 1800's extensive deposits of the gemstone were discovered in South America making amethysts less rare and therefore less expensive and valued.

Amethysts form in long prismatic crystals in geodes or hollow rocks. These geodes form when there are cavities in volcanic rock. As the rock cools the mineral saturated water, gases and volcanic material distil and crystallise. When these crystals harden, they form amethyst. Amethyst occurs in primary hues from a light lavender or pale violet to a deep purple and can exhibit one or both secondary hues of red and blue. Green quartz is sometimes incorrectly called green amethyst, its correct name is Prasolite.

Amethyst has a good hardness and handling it with proper care will prevent damage to the stone. Amethyst is sensitive is to strong heat and may lose or change colour when exposed to prolonged heat or light.

Click here to view all of our amethyst jewellery

The Top 5 Engagement Ring Trends For 2023

Nude Jewellery is a forward thinking independent jeweller that specialises in creating unique and unusual exclusive engagement ring designs. Owner & award-winning designer Nikki Galloway spends her days liaising with clients to discuss which styles they are looking for and creating their perfect bespoke engagement. “Everyday is different which is why I love my job, creating engagement rings on a daily basis gives us a fantastic insight into how trends and styles are ever changing and what we foresee as future styles". 

So here are our predictions for engagement rings for 2023:

1, Sapphires & Coloured Gemstones

This year we have made many gemstone engagement rings in a rainbow of colours, from breathtakingly beautiful violet sapphires to yellow diamonds and green tsavorite. There seems to be no stopping the bright and adventurous colour combinations. The most traditional gemstone for engagement rings used are, sapphires, rubies and emeralds. This is because these gemstone are incredibly strong and durable. But there are many other gemstones that are equally as beautiful to choose from.

Did you know? Sapphires don't just come in the traditional and most common blue, you can also get teal, green, pink, white and yellow all in many shades and hues. Below is our Flutterby ring featuring a stunning violet sapphire.

Colour Clash

I love this, we have a wide selection of colour clash engagement rings and have created many throughout the year. My favourite is red sapphires or rubies with pink sapphires it's just such a fun combination.

2, Asymmetrical Engagement Ring

A new contemporary trend away from the norm and traditional is the asymmetrical engagement rings which are increasing in popularity. This style is a beautiful way to show off your unique personality. We started out with our Atlantis ring which continues to be one of our most popular ring designs and then couple of variations on this ring. The Atlantis Storm and The Atlantis Paradise and new for October 2022 is our Seline ring.

Technical Tip: My advice when looking at this style is to make sure that the weight of the gemstones and top details are balanced otherwise the ring will fall to the heavier side when on the finger.

3, Pear Shaped & Marquise Shaped Diamonds & Gemstones

This style is classic yet modern, often with a delicate band adorned in diamonds or gemstones which shows of the main focal point which is often a diamond or stunning gemstone. Take a look at our Calista ring, our most popular combinations in this ring is ruby and black diamonds and yellow/champagne diamond and white diamonds.

Technical Tip: In order for the ring to last the test of time, make sure that the even although the band is delicate, it shouldn't be so delicate that it will snap or weaken over time and through wear – remember this is a ring that you will wear every day forever.

4, Champagne – Chocolate Diamonds

Champagne and chocolate coloured diamonds are stunning, vivid and full of life and are typically not as expensive as the traditional white diamond making them an increasingly popular choice. They are also perfectly paired with rose gold which only enhances their beauty and what's not to love about rose gold which has never been so popular.

5, Rose Gold

Rose gold engagement rings have been popular for quite a few years now with no signs of going away. For years I have been designing and making engagement rings which were mostly white gold with a few that were yellow. Now I'd say that rose gold is more popular than yellow with my clients. It has a softness about it which works very well with many different gemstones and skin tones.

This is my guide to engagement ring trends for 2023. If you want to take a look at our Engagement Ring page for more inspiration then click here. I'm a little obsessed with designing so you'll find new designs added regularly.

Toi et Moi Engagement Rings

Translated to “You and Me” from French, Toi et Moi rings nestle two showstopping stones together in one simple and uncomplicated band. This is the design to look out for in the next couple of years and I think will be on my list for 2024!

A bit about me & Nude Jewellery:

Nude Jewellery was established in 2001 by me, Nikki Galloway. Originally we were based in Shepherd's Market, Mayfair, London our boutique quickly became established and celebrated appearances in over 100 publications worldwide including Vogue,The Sunday Times Style, Elle, Evening Standard, and French Vogue. I have worked on hundred's of bespoke jewellery commissions over the years including for Elle MacPherson and the Sultan of Brunei.

Thanks for reading, Nikki

What colour of Sapphire would you choose? (not all are blue!)

When most people think of sapphires they think of blue, but in fact sapphires are available in a rainbow of colours. Pretty much everything except for a pinkish, purpleish, red. If it's this colour then it's a ruby!

Sapphire is a precious gemstone that is a variety of the mineral corundum. Corrundum is one of the hardest minerals which is why it is a popular choice for jewellery and indeed engagement rings. On the Mohs scale of hardness a sapphire is a 9 – the only other gemstone that is harder is a diamond.

A sapphires colour is is influenced by trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium within each of it's crystals. For example, titanium within these tiny crystal elements reflect and refract to make a sapphire blue.

The name sapphire is derived from the Latin "saphirus" and the Greek "sapheiros", both of which mean blue.

It is common practice to heat natural sapphires to improve or enhance their appearance. This is done by heating the sapphires in furnaces to temperatures between 800 and 1,800 °C Evidence of sapphire and other gemstones being subjected to heating goes back at least to Roman times and generally applies to most sapphires – in fact an untreated sapphires are quite rare and one of high quality would be of high value.

Birthstone - September

Cut - As cabochons or as faceted gemstones

Found - Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka, Australia

Care Tip - A hard gemstone that can appear cloudy when needing cleaned.  Clean with mild liquid soap, warm water and an old soft bristled toothbrush

View all of our Sapphire jewellery here...