I just have a question. I was told recently about a precious and
supposedly rare stone, the Alexandra, Does such a stone really exist/
i have not been able to find any myself.
I just have a question. I was told recently about a precious and supposedly rare stone, the Alexandra, Does such a stone really exist/ i have not been able to find any myself.<<
Sender: owner-orchid@ganoksin.com
Precedence: bulk
I suspect the stone you’re talking about is an alexandrite. Alex is
a chrysoberyl, hardness of * 1/2, specific gravity of 3.73 and a
refractive index of 1.746-1.755. It was originally found in the Urals
of Russia, supposedly on the birthday or czar Alexander, hence the
name. It’s also found in Brazil & possibly other places. Alex is a
rare gem. It’s a color change stone. The best alex looks green in
daylight & red in incandescent light. Some alex will exhibit other
colors in daylight & incandescent light. It ranges from transparent to
opaque. The red/green transparent is the most valuable. Faceted stones
of good quality can sell for several thousands of dollars per karat
depending on the size.
Hope this helps.
Dave
End of forwarded message
You are most likely referring to an alexandrite, a very rare and
expensive color change stone. If you look it up under the name
alexandrite, or chrysoberyl (it is a variety of chrysoberyl) I am sure
you can find tons of on it.
Daniel R. Spirer, GG
Spirer Somes Jewelers
1794 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02140
@spirersomes
http://www.spirersomes.com
Probably they meant an Alexandrite, a form of chrysoberyl, usually
found in Russia. The TRUE Alexandrite is very rare and not many
people have seen one, much less owned one. It is great for rings
because it is quite hard (8.5) and has the unusual property of looking
RED in artificial light, GREEN in natural light and various mixtures
of the two in mixed lighting. There are several simulants around,
mainly synthetic corundums. They quite pretty and change colors kinda
like Alexandrite, but they ain’t Alexandrites…Bob Williams
You have most likely been exposed to alexandrite. It is an
extraordinary stone that changes color, depending on the light source
- natural or incandescent. This stone has been synthesized for many
years, so be careful. Large stones are exceedingly rare, and even
small cabochons cut from natural material are very expensive!
If it seems to good to be true, have it checked out!
All the best,
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com mailto:dave@sebaste.com
http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com http://www.CarolinaArtisans.com
Alexandrite is a extremely precious gemstone (chrysoberyl). Good color
change (from red to green) alexandrites are incredibly precious.
You can read more about alexandrite in:
http://mineral.galleries.com/minerals/gemstone/alexandr/alexandr.htm
Besides alexandrite there are some color change gemstones like color
change shapphire.
I don’t know what wavelength light make the alexandrite red or green.
I only have a synthetic colundum alexandrite. It seems it looks
blue-violet with ultra-violet (UV) light, which is included in the
sun light and especially strong included in the light from TV or
computer displays. And it looks red-violet with light which includes
red wavelength light.
Takashi Tomoeda @Takashi_Tomoeda
Try doing a search for Alexandrite. It is a vareity of chrysoberyl,
has a color change from green in daylight to red in artificial light.
Earl
Could you possibly mean Alexandrite? I have heard this stone
described as " precious" because of the way it appears as different
colours ( purple or greenish) depending on if the light is natural or
artificial. Don’t know if this is any help or not - Christine
Hello,
In the Netherlands we cal this stone alexandrite, It is natural found
very rare, But nowadays also sold synthetic. The trick or speciality of
this material is, that the colour is light green blue in day light,
and under a light bulb, rose, pink.
Martin Niemeijer
Alexandrite gives it’s best color change in moving from sunlight to
candlelight! In many ways modern life just passed it by. I made my ex
a ring with one many years ago (when fewer people knew about it and it
fetched a much lower price) and we’d ring ahead to dinner parties to
make sure there would be candles on the table!
It’s a near to magic you can get.
Tony Konrath
I have also had good luck in getting good and good sized Alexandrites
from Africa, specifically from tz-gems.com. They were tested
independently and appraised quite well - the only challange was
finding a cutter in my area willing to take on a rough Alexandrite of
1 gram size and good form. I also have had the good fortune to get
Alexandrite from India and Russia. As far as the stones go my favorite
stone came from Russia, the African stones were MUCH larger and of
nearly the same color saturation (not quite) and the Indian
Alexandrite (from Orissa) had the least color. As far as cost goes I
paid the most for the Russian and the least for the African. Dollar
for Dollar value the African gave the best buy. It is not often that
you see decent sized Alexandrite of any color change, not to mention
the nice little one that was sent that I have yet to cut but was as
good and better than the Russian stuff in color saturation.
As a question I have noticed some people selling chrysoberyl that
changes from green to yellow as Alexandrite??? I have several grams
of this stuff in over gram sized pieces (24 of them) but I thought it
was just “interesting” chrysoberyl (this is what it was sold as) as it
had no red (2 do have a hint of it uncut but will cut low grade color
change - to an orangish - at best). Which is it Chrysoberyl or C grade
Alexandrite?
Alicia Miller
I suspect the stone you’re talking about is an alexandrite. Alex is a
chrysoberyl, hardness of * 1/2, specific gravity of 3.73 and a
refractive index of 1.746-1.755. It was originally found in the Urals
of Russia, supposedly on the birthday or czar Alexander, hence the
name. It’s also found in Brazil & possibly other places. Alex is a
rare gem. It’s a color change stone. The best alex looks green in
daylight & red in incandescent light. Some alex will exhibit other
colors in daylight & incandescent light. It ranges from transparent
to opaque. The red/green transparent is the most valuable. Faceted
stones of good quality can sell for several thousands of dollars per
karat depending on the size.
Hope this helps.
Dave
I’ve never encountered a stone called “Alexandra,” but know a fair
amount about one called “alexandrite” since I deal in it. I suspect
your search for will improve if you use that spelling.
Alexandrite is a rare and expensive color-change variety of the
mineral chrysoberyl, exhibiting various shades of red/purple in
incandescent light and green to blue-green in daylight and
fluorescent light. Chrysoberyl also occurs in green to yellow
crystals without color change, and they make fine faceted stones of
excellent hardness (mohs 8.5). When “silk” fibers are present they
cause an effect called “chatoyancy”: the cat’s-eye phenomenon.
Chrysoberyl (or cymophane) cat’s-eyes are the finest available and
are very expensive in large sizes and fine color. They are the only
stones that can accurately be called “cat’s-eyes” without a modifer
such as “cat’s-eye tigereye,” “cat’s-eye tourmaline,” etc. One of
the rarest stones on earth is the alexandrite cat’s-eye: a
chrysoberyl cat’s-eye with color-change! Ironically, it requires a
modifier to distinguish it from “cat’s-eye.”
Alexandrite is in a class by itself. It may be the world’s most
expensive stone (in top quality and large size) but very attractive
smaller stones with less than ideal color change are available more
reasonably. Beware the large amount of man-made "alexandrite"
currently on the market. Lab-grown stones are abundant, and some of
the sellers I’ve observed aren’t entirely forthcoming about their
stones’ origins. This is a case where a few natural inclusions can
be a mighty good thing!
Alex was not discovered until 1830 in Russia’s Ural Mountains.
Because its colors were the same as the red and green of Czar
Alexander II’s Imperial Guard, it was named after him. Some stories
claim it was discovered on his birthday but I suspect that’s
stretching the truth a bit. It makes a charming tale though.
Russian Alexandrite was always scarce and became even more so after
the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Tiffany and Co. played an important
role in popularizing alexandrite in the U.S. as the company has done
with a number of stones, most recently tanzanite and tsavorite.
The alexandrite supply dried up almost entirely for many years, with
only a few stones of variable quality from Sri Lanka until another
deposit was discovered in Brazil in the late 1980s. Despite what
I’ve read here and elsewhere, the Brazilian gems can be as good or
better than anything ever produced in Russia. I’ve compared them
side-by-side with my own eyes. The Brazilian mine is now largely
exhausted but a few stones are still trickling out, and I can
occasionally find them mostly in smaller sizes. Some high quality
large alex’s are also being found in Tanzania and Madagascar but
production is spotty and sporadic.
I am involved with a brand new alexandrite source in Asia, and
receive occasional shipments of small faceted stones as well as small
cat’s-eye alex’s. Occasional center stones are available in various
qualities. However, if you’re looking for a 2-3 carat clean gem of
fine make with 100% top color change and haven’t done any price
shopping, fasten your seat belt and take a few dramamine. You’ll
need them when you hear the price; but if you’re serious I may be
able to find a suitable stone. If you’re simply seeking a birthstone
for June you’d be better advised to settle for something under 1
carat with inclusions and a 50 to 75% color change. They are still a
remarkable work of nature!
Rick Martin
Hi , Alexandrite is color Change Chrysoberyl - I am told it should
have 50% color Change to be Called Alexandrite or else its Color
Change Chrysoberyl. See you in Tucson Ahmed shareek
http://www.ahmeds.com/shop/tucson.htm
Alexandrites have been very competently described by several of our
list mates.
There is another stone prevalent in Egypt and in other middle eastern
countries (Iran, for instance), used by many of the women - which
goes by the name Alexandra or Alexander. It is an alexandrite
simulant or a synthetic alexandrite. It is usually easily
distinguished by the “funky” colors in the color change and also by
the size. When you see a 5+ carat “alexandra” in a simple women’s
ring, you tend to get the idea that it has to be a synthetic or
simulant. Unless, of course, she is married to the Shah, etc.
Also, it is a good idea to be discreet about these stones - admire
them and say no more, as the women usually become very indignant if
you mention they are wearing a synthetic or simulant stone.
Best regards,
Robert Lowe
Lowe Associates - Brasil
Gemstones, Rough, Specimens
Tucson 2001 - GJX # 205
e-mail: @Robert
Also, it is a good idea to be discreet about these stones - admire them and say no more, as the women usually become very indignant if you mention they are wearing a synthetic or simulant stone.
Actually, as a professional jeweler you should be very careful about
appearing to agree with someone that their stone is real when it is
not. In the US, at least, you can be sued if you imply that a stone
is real and someone later identifies it as synthetic. This is
particularly important when you are taking in pieces like this to work
on. If you don’t clarify what the stone is at take in, the customer
may later think you switched stones and can sue you. Although it
would be harder to be sued seriously for simply making an offhand
comment about a stone, as a professional you should never appear to be
any less than thoroughly knowledgeable about your field of work. Daniel
R. Spirer, GG Spirer Somes Jewelers 1794 Massachusetts Ave. Cambridge,
MA 02140 @spirersomes http://www.spirersomes.com