Natural Alexandrites Overview
Alexandrite was discovered only as recently as 1830 in the Urals. It is green in daylight, and light red in artificial incandescent light. This changing of color is best seen in thick stones. Alexandrite displaying the cat's eye effect is a great rarity.
Care must be taken when working with it, as it is sensitive to knocks and color changes are possible with exposure to great heat.
High quality alexandrite is one of the most expensive of all the precious gemstones.
Physical Properties
| Color |
Color change - from green to raspberry. |
| Refractive Index |
1.746-1.755 |
| Chemistry |
BeAl2O4 |
| Hardness |
8.5 |
| Density |
3.72 |
| Crystal Group |
Orthorhombic |
| Ocurrence |
Urals, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Burma, India, Madagascar, Tanzania, Tasmania and the United States. |
Legend and Lore
Can be confused with synthetic corundum, synthetic spinel, andalusite, pyrope.
Doublets with good color change are available with red garnet on top, red glass underneath.
Synthetic alexandrite is also known.
Browse Alexandrites
The pictures above only represents the general appearance of the Alexandrite. Please note that the real Alexandrites in our stock will be of varied shapes, color and sizes.
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