Alexandrite

This rare gemstone is named after Russian Tsar Alexander II (1818 - 1881), since the very first aAlexandrite crystals were discovered almost exactly on his birthday in the year 1830 in the Emerald mines of the southern Urals. Alexandrite, quite a young gemstone compared to others, thus has nevertheless got a grandiose past. Because it shows the two colours red and green, the main colours of the Russian national banner in those days, it inevitably became the national stone of Tsaristic Russia.

Beautiful Alexandrite in top quality, however, is very rare indeed and is hardly ever used in modern jewellery. In antique Russian pieces you may come across them with a little luck, because the Russian master jewellers loved this stone. Also Tiffany’s master gemmologist Georg Kunz was so fascinated by Alexandrite that the jeweller’s firm produced some beautiful series of rings and platinum ensembles at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. Smaller Alexandrites are occasionally also used for Victorian jewellery from England.

The Magic of Changing Colours

The most sensational feature about this stone, however, is its surprising capability of changing its colour. Green in daylight, Alexandrite changes its colour to a soft shade of red, purplish-red or purple-grey in candle light or artificial light. Thus it displays a unique optical characteristic making it one of the most valuable gemstones of all, especially in fine qualities.

Alexandrite is very scarce: this is due to its chemical composition. It is basically a Chrysoberyl, a family consisting of the colourless or yellow Chrysoberyl, Chrysoberyl Cat’s Eye and colour-changing Alexandrite. It differs from the other Chrysoberyls insofar as it does not only contain iron and titanium, but also chrome. And it is this very element which accounts for the spectacular colour-change. According to CIBJO nomenclature only Beryls displaying a distinct change of colour may be termed Chrysoberyl.

Its rarity is obviously caused by its formation. Like all other gemstones, Alexandrite emerged millions of years ago when the earth was still a fiery mass. It required two kinds of stone in order to create Alexandrite: one of these contributed the elements aluminium and beryllium, the other chrome. However, these conditions occurred only rarely. The result: Alexandrite crystals are very scarce indeed.

Nowadays not only from Russia

Russia is still the number one from the mines of the Urals was available on the market. Since the Russian occurrence were thought to be exhausted for some time, the interest in the unique colour miracle decreased – especially since Alexandrites from other mines hardly ever displayed the coveted colour change. But the situation changed dramatically when in the year 1987 Alexandrites were discovered in a place called Hematita in Brazil. The Brazilian Alexandrite convinced both in a distinctive colour change and in good clarity and colour. Thus the somewhat dulled image of the miraculous stone received another boost. The colour is admittedly not as strong a green as that of Russian Alexandrite, but the colour change is clearly discernible. Today Hematita is one of the economically most important occurrences for Alexandrite. Now and then even an Alexandrite with chattoyance effect is discovered there, something which has not happened with Russian Alexandrites so far. Alexandrites do also exist in Sri Lanka, but these stones differ from the highly estimated Russian ones by a slightly different shade of colour: in daylight they appear blue-green, and in artificial light they will change to reddish purple or deep purple. In Tunduru as well as in India, Burma, Tasmania and Zimbabwe Alexandrite is also found. Thus this stone still is considered a rarity, but specialised gemstone dealers do in fact carry it – especially since the improved trade relationships between Russia and the rest of the world have brought about also a better supply of Russian Alexandrites to the market.

Gemstone for Experts and Gemstone Lovers

With its good hardness of 8.5, Alexandrite is an uncomplicated stone to wear. The more intensive the change of colour, the more valuable the stone. Fine Alexandrite, especially in qualities of over one carat, thus belongs to the most expensive gemstones in the world. It is rarer than fine Ruby, Sapphire or Emerald. Its value does mainly depend on the depth of the colour change: a really fine Alexandrite should show a vivid green in daylight, and change to purple-red or deep purple in artificial light, without any trace of undesired brown. And if its origin is indisputably Russia, than we are talking about a real rarity of enormous value.

Alexandrite is a stone for experts and enthusiasts, a true understatement stone. Its uniqueness and high value are not evident at first sight. The mysterious colour change will only occur when exposed to different light sources. But if you really get involved in Alexandrite, you will be utterly fascinated by this gemstone. Maybe you will also feel some of the mysterious magic ascribed to Alexandrite: in critical situations it is supposed to strengthen its wearer’s intuition to help him or her find new ways whenever logic will not provide an answer. Alexandrite is also reputed to support creativity and inspire imagination.

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