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History and Lore:
Alexandrite was discovered in 1830 in Russia. Since the
Russian imperial colors were red and green, it was named
after Czar Alexander II on the occasion of his coming of
age.
Tiffany &
Co. in New York was known for beautiful Alexandrite jewelry,
producing many exquisite rings in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth century.
Alexandrite is one of the US birthstones for June.
Quality, Value &Availability:
Alexandrite is extremely rare and valuable in fine
qualities.
The
preferred colors are “ruby” red and “emerald” green but this
standard is almost never attained.
When
evaluating alexandrite, pay more attention to the color
change : more dramatic and complete the shift from red to
green, without the bleeding through of brown or grey from
one color to the next, the more rare and valuable the stone.
The other
important value factors are the attractiveness and intensity
of the two colors, the clarity, and the cutting quality.
Because of the rarity of this gemstone, large sizes of equal
quality command very high premiums.
Alexandrite is most often faceted into oval and cushion
cuts.
In the
1950s and 1960s, a synthetic sapphire that changes color
from pastel blue to purple was widely sold as Alexandrite in
inexpensive silver jewelry. This imitation alexandrite can
be easily identified since the colors are quite different
from Alexandrite. A true synthetic alexandrite is also
produced and has a more similar appearance to its natural
counterpart.
Sources:
The
original source in Russia’s Ural Mountains has long since
closed after producing for only a few decades and only a few
Russian stones can be found on the market today. The best
are a remarkably red and green.
In 1987,
alexandrite with a beautiful and striking color change from
“raspberry” red to bluish green was discovered in Hematita,
Brazil. Hematita gems are highly valued but production has
dwindled to a trickle today.
Some
Alexandrite is found in Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Madagascar,
India and other localities in Brazil, but very few show a
dramatic color change.
Care & Cleaning:
Like other
varieties of Chrysoberyl, Alexandrite is a hard and durable
gem, 8.5 on the Mohs scale, with excellent toughness.
Clean
alexandrite with mild dish soap: use a toothbrush to scrub
behind the stone where dust can collect.
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