Interesting Facts 

One of the world’s most exotic and rare gemstones by day, Alexandrite resembles the “Green Fire“ of Emeralds and by night, it takes on the glowing "Red Luster" of Rubies. First discovered in 1830 on the birthday of Czar Alexander of Russia (for whom it was named), Alexandrite is truly suited for a Czar, displaying the royal colors of Imperial Russia. The worlds major source of Alexandrite is in the states of Minas Gerias, in Brazil. In 1987 the Lavra de Hematite mine, the world’s largest single deposit of Alexandrite was found. Today the Russian deposits are nearly depleted due to heavy mining.

Characteristics

The degree of color change is the first and most important consideration when evaluating Alexandrite. Low quality stones will present a less dramatic change of color, partially retaining some of the green color or appearing brown under incandescent light. The evaluation of the Alexandrite should be performed in dark room under a single light source.