Let's talk about amethyst and other gems

As we all know, Mojang has said that armor needs an "exciting new place in the progression of defense." This, of course leaves us all sad because of rejections of stuff like emerald or copper armor. Well, what if there was a way that it could technically work. Here's an example. Amethyst armor. Amethyst is pretty rare, unless you find a geode. So what if Amethyst armor had the strength of iron, and had a small thorns affect, because amethyst is spiky. Emerald armor could give better deals with villagers. Copper could give bows or tridents an auto-channeling during storms. And lapis could give small discounts on enchantments, or allow a free re-roll of enchantments. Armor trimming was a good compromise, but I think these small effects could give some excitement in getting it