Some stones are emblematic of certain countries: we can think of the emerald of Colombia or the ruby of the Mogok valley in Myanmar. Alexandrite is one of these stones. Discovered in the Ural mountains in 1830, named after Tsar Alexander II, it was the official stone of the Russian Tsarate. It is still extremely popular in Russia today, although the original Ural deposits have been exhausted.
Alexandrite is a very special variety of chrysoberyl. What makes it special is its optical effect: the change of color. Indeed, depending on the light source, alexandrite changes color, from blue-green to natural white light to red to incandescent light. The more pronounced this change, the more valuable the stone. Moreover, legend has it that the miners who first discovered alexandrite thought it was emerald - until they noticed the color change, which does not exist in emeralds.
Alexandrite under natural light (left) or incandescent light (right)
Alexandrite, with a hardness of 8 ½ on the Mohs scale, is a strong stone suitable for use in jewelry. The birthstone of the month of June, it is an appreciated and rare stone. Thus, processes exist to produce synthetic alexandrites in the laboratory. However, at Alchimie Paris, you will find only natural stones.
Alexandrites can be found in Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Brazil, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Russia.
Discover without delay our collection of alexandrites available on Nascendi Paris.
