Amethyst Jewel Tomato Review

This variety can also be translated as Amethyst Treasure.

Indeterminate, mid-season, productive variety. The tomatoes are unusually beautiful 👍 👍 👍, probably the most beautiful variety I got this season. The color – I don’t even know how to describe it: blue-pink. The bottom is an unusually warm pink color, transitioning into blue-purple splashes, and then into a solid purple on the shoulders. Basically – not just a variety, but a true jewel. The taste of the fruits also surprised me: very good flavor, with sweetness, average weight was 140 grams (5 oz).

No matter how many times I photographed these tomatoes – I just couldn’t capture their full beauty completely.

I agree with the previous speaker 🙂
The tomato is great at all stages. From flowering to eating 👍

Definitely a jewel! How tall was the bush? I grew a similar variety — Blue Beauty. It would be interesting to compare them.

Tamara! For me, this indeterminate wasn’t very tall. At first, it grew in Open Ground, then I transplanted it into the greenhouse in July. In the greenhouse, it grew to 1.2 meters (4 ft). And I planted the seeds late – in early May (because I had to resow). So I can’t fully evaluate its maximum height.

I just looked at Tatiana Kouchnareva’s database – they are indeed different varieties, although Blue Beauty is also very beautiful 👍

ElenaN wrote:
I just looked at Tatiana Kouchnareva’s database – they are indeed different varieties…

Yes, they are different. It would be interesting to grow them side-by-side and see what’s what. I actually bought my seeds from Tatiana. I’ll go write a review about it.

I literally just ran to dig through my seed stash 😵 😆 Found Blue Beauty, I will plant them next year side-by-side and compare them then. True, my Blue Beauty seeds aren’t directly from Tatiana, but originally they came from her.

tomik wrote:
How tall was the bush?

I was looking down at it, which means it was less than 150 cm (5 ft) 😂

I might be wrong, but I got the impression that both varieties came from the same cross. Both are from 2013, from Brad Gates.

Regarding Blue Beauty, it is written that it was obtained by selecting from a cross between Beauty King and a blue tomato. But regarding Amethyst Jewel, it is clearly stated that the variety is still unstable, and not all fruits have anthocyanin-pink coloring. And there is a recommendation for those who are going to grow it – to select seeds only from fruits with anthocyanin pigmentation, meaning, to continue the selective breeding process yourself.

And how is it with the yield?

Mine grew in Open Ground this year. It stood out from all my other indigo varieties. Beautiful and tasty. But this summer, many varieties underperformed in yield. 😳

In terms of yield this season, it was one of the most productive out of more than 20 blue/antho varieties I planted.

Amethyst Jewel 2015:

My Amethyst Jewel 2015.

This variety segregated (threw off-types) for me. Two bushes were tall with red fruits. Their taste was sweet. One bush turned out medium height and produced blue fruits with pink streaks. The taste of those fruits turned out spicy/tangy.

Planted this variety in 2015.
– Bush appearance: mid-early, sprawling, medium-vigor indeterminate.
– Fruit set: no skipped blossoms, fruits all the way to the top.
– Height: by August 5th it was about 1.3m (4.2 ft).
– Clusters: dense, 5-6 fruits each.
– Overall yield: medium.
– Fruit: oblate/flattened, purple-pink-ink colored, very beautiful.
– Density of ripe fruit: medium.
– Taste: juicy, meaty, mouth-coating, tasty, sweetness is a 4+ out of 5.

First impression: a very beautiful tomato for fresh eating and salads.
The downsides — the bush is not very tall, and the fruits can roast/sunburn in direct sun.

Seedling rating – A, bush rating – B, fruit rating – A+, overall variety rating – A-.

Here is my jewel. For some reason, it is paler, not as dark.
The bushes (I had 2) were 1.20-1.30m (4 ft) tall, planted out in late April, grew them in three stems. They started ripening at the end of July, photos from August 5.
Pulled them out on Sunday. Yield is medium, they grew gradually, about 4 per cluster. Weight is somewhere around 100-200g (3.5-7 oz).
I kept hiding them from the sun all the time, but with mixed success. You can even see a white sun-bleached spot on the photo in my hand, it must have peaked out and I didn’t catch it.
The taste is slightly sweet, tender. For me, it was a bit bland, I’d give it a 4 out of 5.

Nadine wrote:
For some reason, it is paler, not as dark.

The bluish tint manifests based on the amount of light or sun hitting the fruit. That is why mostly the upper part of the fruit, or the side facing the sun, turns black, while the lower part of the fruit remains red/pink.

A very beautiful and productive variety. Grew in the greenhouse in 3 stems, fruits 100-200g (3.5-7 oz), tasty, with sweetness 😋. One of the hits of the season! 👍

The varieties Amethyst Jewel and Blue Beauty turned out to be very similar.

Amethyst Jewel:
Grew it for the second year. Yield is good, but the taste this year was a completely ordinary tomato flavor, without sweetness. Blue Beauty, in my opinion — is tastier.

Blue Beauty:
Fruits weighing 120-150g (4-5 oz), good taste, very beautiful — round, flattened beefsteaks, pink with purple shoulders.

My dears, please help me… I lost my Amethyst Jewel among my seedlings 🤷 I got distracted, started talking, and didn’t label the cup….. Now I found an unlabeled one, but I am doubting — is it really it? What should it look like when it sprouts… is the seedling stem bluish? (And not from the cold, it’s sitting in a warm spot)… I planted it back in February… one seed sprouted and the color is unusual. It’s my only blue variety.

Valentina, my Amethyst Jewel at the cotyledon stage has a slightly purple stem compared to regular red-fruited varieties.

Thank you Tatyana. Then I will name my blue-bellied one Amethyst… at least until it gives fruit 📝

My stem is also bluish (compared to the others).

I really liked the taste of Amethyst Jewel. Fresh, sweetish, very unique and pleasant. The bush is not massive, not very tall, about 150 cm (5 ft) or so. The fruits are beautiful, the shoulders are almost black. But it cracks, it has thin skin. I will grow it again.

VALENTINA/Abakan wrote:
My dears, please help me… I lost my Amethyst Jewel among my seedlings 🤷

Mine “got lost” too. Either the genetics segregated, or the vendor (Popenko V.) sent me the wrong seeds from the start.

Productive, long fruiting period, stores well, beautiful!

Lana_s_Kavkaza wrote:
Productive, long fruiting period…

Sveta, hi! Did you grow Blue Beauty, Amethyst Jewel, and Pink Siberian Tiger at the same time? Can you describe the differences between them?

Alisa, I grew all three of them. They are very similar. The coloring wanders a little bit, but otherwise the weight, the fruit shape, and the bush height are all similar.

Alisa wrote:
Can you describe the differences between them?

I planted AJ and Pink Siberian Tiger (from Popenko) right next to each other to compare. They are very similar, starting right from the seedlings (bluish stems). I liked both varieties very much; they are beautiful, productive, disease-resistant, and fruit for a long time. AJ still has little fruits hanging under the greenhouse roof right now.

The amount of blue on the shoulders depends on the amount of sun hitting the fruits. Overall, the shape, color, taste (sweet 😋), and even the cross-section look similar 🤷. I definitely didn’t mix them up during sowing, I monitored them very carefully specifically to compare. On both varieties, some of the smaller fruits had a slight heart/oxheart shape, while all the rest were oblate (flattened globes).

One of the Siberian Tiger bushes did segregate (throw an off-type), but I’ll write about that in its own thread.

Svetikk, is the taste similar too? Or are there differences after all?

I grew them too. They are similar, but for me, Siberian Tiger was a scrawny weakling as a seedling. I had to nurse it back to health and even planted 2 bushes in one hole. Then they leveled out. The taste is good. They are firm and can be stored for a long time, but they often catch botrytis (gray mold) near the stem (maybe it’s just me, because gray mold runs rampant in my greenhouse).

AJ is still growing in the greenhouse and was more productive.

My bush in the greenhouse was slightly over a meter (3.5 ft), grown in a single stem. Seeds were from the forum. I liked the taste very much, with sweetness. 😋 What I liked even more is that it stored well. And the yield is massive! And the beauty of it… 👍

My Amethyst Jewel. Seeds from Lenochka-ElenaN. The bush is tall and powerful. A very productive and tasty tomato. But it did not store well for me at all; it started spoiling quickly near the stem. The fruits are very beautiful. I grew 2 bushes, one in the greenhouse, one in Open Ground. Both bushes were productive, grown in 3 stems. It is already on my planting list for next year.

And this year I planted the leftover seeds from Redko and here it is, without blue shoulders 😲 🤷

I am very happy with this variety. Everything suited me, both the taste and the beauty. Heh… the only thing was that people who looked into the greenhouse gave it a wide berth 😆 They were afraid it was inedible/poisonous…. but they missed out 😋 I will plant it in 2017 too! I won’t describe the bush structure – a lot has already been said. I will just say that it grows wonderfully even here in Khakassia (Siberia) 👍

This past season, Amethyst Jewel in the greenhouse turned out much more productive than a year ago. The taste was fruity, exotic, and sweet. Compared to the variety Blue, the fruits of Jewel were, on average, larger.

Productive, beautiful, but the taste of this variety did not impress me. I won’t repeat it.

Boys and girls! Please advise, where is it better to plant AJ in the greenhouse: close to the polycarbonate wall or in the second row? On one hand, people say it needs to be shaded, on the other hand, the anthocyanin shows up more in the sun.

Irina_Zg wrote:
Please advise, where is it better to plant AJ in the greenhouse…

I think that if you should shade it at all, it’s only in southern regions. For me, it grew in full sun and fruited excellently.

Thank you, Ilya!!!!

Irina_Zg wrote:
Please advise, where is it better to plant AJ in the greenhouse…

By the aisle in a bright spot! In the shade, there will be less blue on the fruits, and the yield might suffer. This variety fruits well along the entire length of the bush right up to the very top (up to 2 meters / 6.5 ft), and near the aisle, it will have more vertical room.

You can plant it by the wall if it’s on the south side and gets good light.

Svetlana, it is on the south side. So I’m thinking, either against the polycarbonate or in the aisle towards the end of the greenhouse. There will be extra light from the end wall there too. If it won’t roast/burn, then I can put it by the wall.

I liked Amethyst Jewel for its beauty, quite decent taste, high yield, and excellent storage. The smaller fruits I fermented (pickled whole) along with the others 👍
I will plant it again in the 2017 season.

I forgot to mention that my AJ grew in Open Ground. The fruits didn’t get sunburned, but the plant did drop some blossoms (although it’s worth noting that it sets a LOT of flowers).

My AJ (from Svetikk) grew in partial shade, in Open Ground, but despite the low yield, it managed to surprise both us and our friends. The taste is distinctly fruity and exotic, the fruits are not large (for me up to 120 g / 4 oz), but it got sick quickly (suddenly wilted and stopped growing). I will repeat it, correct my mistakes, and give it a sunny spot.

I am planting this variety for the fifth year, I will definitely take pictures this year. The coloring of the tomato is pure ecstasy, like a New Year’s tree ornament, the gradients from dark purple to fragile pink are simply fantastic. But there is a nuance — I stumbled over it one year. In the shade, there will be no purple tones, and in bright sun, there will be almost no pink. That’s just the kind of tomato it is, painted by the sun’s brush.

Very productive, size leans toward small, the bush is tall, a true indeterminate. It stores very long, easily until December, requires no special conditions. But I didn’t notice any special taste, it’s a bit bland. I plant it for other reasons, mainly because of its extraordinary beauty.

A very beautiful and tasty tomato! In the greenhouse, it turned out to be not very productive — all the blossoms roasted and dropped in the June heat. Next year, I will plant it in Open Ground.

This year — the absolute leader in taste 😋 👍

I also liked this variety 👍
The taste is indeed exotic 😋 It will most likely go on my 2018 grow list 🤫

I planted Amethyst Jewel for the first time this season.
The tomato pleased me with its beauty and abundant harvest. On the lower clusters, the taste did not impress me. But the ones that ripened during good weather turned out to be quite tasty. I don’t know yet whether I will plant it again or not.

Pure delight! Two bushes are growing in the northern part of the greenhouse, in slight shade. Despite this, the color of the fruits is intensely dark blue. Ripening is rather mid-late, but that’s just in my setup. The beauty of these fruits cannot be conveyed in words. A purple ink-colored cap and a dark pink smooth belly with a purple undertone. And when cut, it has a beautiful dark pink color. Very tasty if fully ripe. The unripe flesh is a brownish color with a greenish tint.

It’s hard to judge overall yield, but the clusters are very abundant, tomatoes are of medium and small weight. The plant is completely loaded with bunches of blue tomatoes.

A very beautiful little tomato! But it didn’t please me with its yield. I will definitely plant it next season using my own saved seeds.

It turned out to be very productive for me in Open Ground. True, we only picked one ripe one so far, but they are already turning red. And what a handsome guy it is!

I will definitely plant it again!

Compared to other tomatoes, it was quite productive. Why “was”? It is still filling out fruits all the way to the very top. Tasty, dense, sooooo beautiful!

The bush grew in the sun in a polycarbonate greenhouse next to Blue Beauty. They are practically identical. In the heat, both got roasted by the sun. Even the shoulders got tough/hard. Overall – I liked it. I just need to find a better spot for it.

Grew in Open Ground in 2017.

My Amethyst Jewel 👍 🙌 😋
Repeating in 2018.

In 2017, from my own saved seeds, one bush turned out normal — with fruits up to 200g (7 oz). But the second bush produced unusually large beefsteak fruits for this variety, up to 700g (1.5 lbs), averaging 300-400g (10-14 oz) 😲

It grew in 2 stems right at the entrance of the greenhouse and turned out to be one of the most beautiful, tasty, and productive varieties of the season 👍 😋. I saved seeds from it separately. I definitely must repeat such beauty 😜

Sveta 👏 👏 👏 Now that is a Jewel! 👍 👍 👍

Svetik 👍, super 😍

I still have some of your seeds left too — I need to try them — what if I grow massive ones too 😉

I seem to have read the thread, but I still don’t understand when, at what color, the fruit is considered ripe. I have a bush growing in the greenhouse and another bush (it was a weakling as a seedling) I planted in Open Ground without any cover.

So, the one in Open Ground already had dark shoulders at the early fruiting stage. At first, I was even scared that some disease had hit the bush. Now it is completely some kind of black-purple color and of course it’s not tall, less than a meter (3.3 ft). But the one in the greenhouse grew to the ceiling, I lowered it, it has lots of fruits, their shoulders are blue-purple with green veins, it’s clearly unripe.

My question is: when do I pick the one in Open Ground? And I should probably take seeds from the greenhouse one, although the first 2 tomatoes in Open Ground are larger. That’s my dilemma.

It doesn’t matter where you take the seeds from, I would take them from the large, beautiful fruits. It is possible that in Open Ground the variety is even better adapted to adverse conditions. You can determine fruit ripeness by the softness of the fruit; a ripe one is not hard. Plus, redness will appear on the bottom and sides. You’ll know immediately. If the fruit is still entirely blue — it is not ripe.

TatyanaSh wrote:
You can determine fruit ripeness by the softness of the fruit…

Thank you, I assumed there must be some sign of ripeness. Mine haven’t ripened yet.

Planted three bushes in the greenhouse. A complete failure. Small, ugly, and of indeterminate taste.

I understand it’s a hit or miss, but even the one bush in Open Ground didn’t stand out in any way, especially not in taste (even if yield and geometrical size suffered).

But I will try again. People praise it for a reason, after all.

Svetikk wrote:
In 2017, from my own saved seeds, one bush turned out normal… But the second bush produced unusually large beefsteak fruits for this variety, up to 700g (1.5 lbs)…

I planted 4 plants this year. Unfortunately, there were no large beefsteaks among them 😞 How did it go for you this year? What grew from the seeds of that large-fruited Amethyst Jewel?

I just can’t seem to take a good picture of a beautiful, fully ripe AJ. It was the champion of cracking among all my varieties 😞

They crack while unripe and leak juices ((
However, the ones that didn’t crack stored very well.

For me, Amethyst Jewel remains one of the sweetest blue tomatoes. And probably, in general, out of all the tomatoes I have ever grown. And its yield is good. It can be stored while retaining its sweetness. We recently ate the last of its tomatoes. Delicious. There were no cracks on the fruits.

I planted it next to Sgt. Pepper’s specifically to compare.

The bush of AJ is stronger, not that scrawny heart-shaped weakling, which is why it suffered less from the bad weather in Open Ground and set more fruit. The fruits are not large, maybe 100-150g (3.5-5.3 oz) maximum. They seemed a bit sweeter to me than Sgt. Pepper’s, but they yield to it in beauty) Plus, my AJ segregated (threw off-types) into a “tanned” one and one with just “two streaks on the shoulder”.

Otherwise, they are identical. They store moderately well, ripen off the vine, but lose flavor. When I treated regular folks (meaning, non-tomato-addicts) to them, nobody realized they were two different varieties.

Repeated it this year, it turned out early. Sowed on February 6, transplanted to permanent location on April 15. The last fruits were slightly smaller than the first ones.

Amethyst Jewel pleases me with an abundant harvest every year.

Planted it in 2019 for the first time. Seeds from I. Korolev. Of course, the beauty is indescribable! Garlands of blue tomatoes that changed color as they ripened. Very productive, disease-resistant, stores and ripens off the vine well. And what a handsome guy it is when cut! Tasty, but Lucid Gem is tastier to me. Maybe it all depends on who got how much sun, LG grew on the sunnier side of the greenhouse.

T@tk@ wrote:
Sveta, do you have seeds from that AJ with the giant beefsteaks? Did you grow AJ from them in 2018 and 2019?

In 2018 and 2019, from the seeds of that single bush with the giant fruits — alas, bushes grew with fruits only slightly larger than the standard AJ. It is a pity that this specific genetic trait did not stabilize.

My jewel grew in a polycarbonate greenhouse on the sunny side. It threw a tantrum, dropped blossoms, but still managed to set about 30 fruits, half of which have already ripened on the bush. Height is about 1.5 meters (5 ft).

Tasty, beautiful.

But it seemed to me that it was uncomfortable growing for me, for some reason I just had that feeling. The potential was very good, but probably the northern Leningrad climate doesn’t suit it very well. I’ll save seeds, maybe I’ll try sowing it one more time.

Prostoy chainik wrote:
It threw a tantrum, dropped blossoms… probably the northern Leningrad climate doesn’t suit it very well.

Try planting it in slight shade. The anthocyanin might be less pronounced because there won’t be maximum sun exposure, but during heatwaves, the pollen won’t become sterile and you’ll get more fruit set… you have to make a choice: either maximum exotic antho color or yield))) For years, I planted my antho varieties in the second row, shaded by the first row, and got a larger harvest (assuming the overall temperature in the greenhouse isn’t super high). In my conditions, antho varieties set fruit much better in cooler weather, not in extreme heat.

Yes, yes, I was also debating whether to put it in the sun or in the shade; the sun won. I wanted that beautiful exotic anthocyanin. Probably I should try planting it on the middle bed in the greenhouse, or on the eastern side, where it only gets sun until 10 AM.

It is very beautiful, tastier when it ripens on the bush. With “age” it became less moody 🙂 ripens uniformly.

Our whole family adores this variety! It is the only variety we have planted for the fifth year in a row.

I lead it into 3-4 stems, it can handle it. I like this method of pruning because it doesn’t hit the greenhouse roof as fast, and it seemed to produce more. True, the fruits get smaller, about 100-200 g (3.5-7 oz), but they ripen faster. We get to taste it among the very first. And the clusters it forms are very beautiful!

It is a strong and resilient plant, almost never gets sick. It requires very little pruning, doesn’t get overly bushy with foliage. But what I like is that the stem and trusses are very sturdy. I noticed that on the south side near the greenhouse door, it didn’t set everything and skipped some blossoms. But when I planted it in the second row, also near the door but on the north side — it felt great there. It had enough light, but wasn’t in direct roasting sun, and it was well-ventilated.

The main flavor has fruity notes, but delicate. My husband loves it because it has a tangy kick and juice with seeds inside the locules. But honestly, they can be a bit bland sometimes. The taste can change, probably like with all plants. The skin is thin, but it didn’t crack for me.

And I forgot to mention – it is veeeery productive. It even kept growing and trying during greenhouse frosts. Fruiting is uniform and extended.

Grew in partial shade, the fruits were small, up to 100g (3.5 oz). Beautiful, festive, sweet taste.

Amethyst Jewel is my love and favorite. It will always have the best spot in my garden. Three years ago, Late Blight (Phytophthora) killed almost all of my tomatoes. Only Amethyst Jewel and Broken Heart grew beautifully, ripening without any chemical treatments right in the middle of a tomato graveyard, completely shrugging off the Late Blight.

In Open Ground, the bushes are about 1m (3.3 ft). It easily handles 2-3 stems, I suspect even 4. Fruits range from 50g (1.7 oz) at the top to 350g (12 oz). In extreme heat, it doesn’t set everything. If it sets only 1-2 flowers in a cluster, those fruits reach 300g (10.5 oz).

The taste is wonderful. Differs from many others. The texture is excellent. Juicy, not watery. Handles transportation well. It sometimes cracks, but rarely.

A beautiful and very tasty variety, and productive on top of that! I grew it right next to Pink Siberian Tiger, which looks visually very similar. I wanted to compare them side-by-side. In terms of taste and fruit size, Amethyst Jewel definitely beat it. I included it in my Top-10 list for this year.

The fruits are quite uniform and beautiful. My husband gave them a really heavy watering for me once, and a portion of the tomatoes cracked. Other than that, there was zero hassle with this variety. I grew it in 2 stems.

I really liked the variety: beautiful, productive, tasty, and highly resistant to weather whims!