Posts
A fine Alexandrite is green in daylight (pictured left), but in incandescent light it turns a soft purplish red. The picture below is from the gemological report which illustrates the color change. This phenomenon is what gives the stone its nickname “Emerald by Day, Ruby by Night” as well as the attention of collectors and gemologists alike. There is a certain romance in a stone that can change as you move from a sunny day outdoors into a dark, lamp-lit room.
Alexandrite was discovered in the Ural Mountains in Russia in the 1830’s and was named for Tsar Alexander II. Because the Old Russian Imperial colors were also green and red, it became the national stone of tsarist Russia and was originally mined only for royalty. Most jewelry featuring this impressive stone is from Russia, but it is not uncommon to see it set in pieces from the UK and US. In fact, the man most credited with popularizing the stone was the American mineralogist George Kunz, the Gem Expert of Tiffany & Co. in the 1920’s. He was captivated by the stone and encouraged the company to feature it whenever possible. This particular piece is an Alexandrite ring by Tiffany & Co. set in platinum with diamonds from the 1920s, and was clearly influenced by the Mr. Kunz himself.
The phenomenon of color change is not common in natural stones, which has created a demand for synthetic lookalikes. Detecting these synthetic stones can only be done using high powered magnification and a well trained eye. Even jewelry experts would advise having an Alexandrite examined by a gemological laboratory to determine its authenticity. Print this post
