AGTA Highlights Amethyst Jewelry, Showcases Unheated 15.41-carat Moroccan Bicolor and Member Designs

AGTA’s February 2026 Birthstone roundup, posted to AGTA news on 2026-02-18, highlighted specific member offerings and photographic callouts, including “An unheated 15.41 ct. emerald-cut Moroccan-origin bicolor Amethyst; Mayer & Watt” and “Earrings in 18K yellow gold with Amethyst; Ray Griffiths.” The AGTA snippet also displays the date “Wednesday, February 11, 2026” alongside those lines on the web page.

The Mayer & Watt entry is notable for concrete gemological detail: a 15.41-carat weight, emerald cut, Moroccan origin and explicitly described as unheated and bicolor. AGTA’s listing places that stone in the foreground of its member showcase; the association’s photographic callouts make the specimen a focal point of the February birthstone presentation.

NationalJeweler framed amethyst as a market opportunity for 2026, writing “Amethyst is a gemstone to watch in 2026.” The story emphasized how “the gemstone’s rich, purple hue looks totally different when set in white metal versus yellow metal,” and that amethyst “also looks stunning in crystal, geode, faceted, and cabochon form.” NationalJeweler further noted that “Most importantly, amethyst’s affordability can drive demand amid the pricing volatility that is consuming conversations in other parts of the jewelry space,” situating AGTA’s member highlights within broader market conversations.

Ray Griffiths’ credited piece, listed simply as “Earrings in 18K yellow gold with Amethyst; Ray Griffiths” on the AGTA page, illustrates the metal-versus-color point. The explicit 18K yellow-gold specification on AGTA’s line item invites comparison to the white-metal settings NationalJeweler says alter how purple reads, and anchors the designer attribution for buyers and editors tracking member work.

Historical and consumer-facing context accompanies the trade coverage in parallel. Anna Samsonova, CGA of Ben Bridge Jewelers, writing for the American Gem Society, states “Amethyst, ranging from a light to dark purple has been in popular use for centuries,” and calls out provenance in top collections: “Amethyst was Catherine the Great’s favorite stone and can be found among the British Crown Jewels.” Samsonova also outlines natural forms and lore: “Amethyst grows in an amazing rock called a geode,” and notes the Greek etymology, “The name Amethyst comes from a Greek word that means ‘not drunken’,” linking that origin to the stone’s claimed sobering or healing properties.

AGTA’s birthstone roundup ran alongside trade and policy items on the association’s site, underscoring how colored-gem promotion sits within industry advocacy. AGTA posted a preliminary report noting “today’s U.S. Supreme Court opinion striking down President Trump’s reciprocal tariff authority,” and ran an “AGTA Update on U.S. – India Interim Trade Agreement and Tariff Developments” with a photo caption identifying Bruce Bridges, AGTA Board President, and John W. Ford Sr., CEO, AGTA at the Department of the Treasury podium.

Taken together, AGTA’s member showcase and the accompanying industry commentary position amethyst as both a jewelry studio subject and a market story for 2026. As NationalJeweler observed, “As the birthstone for February, it is timely to highlight this month; however, it will have conversational staying power all year long.”