Alexandrites are
colour-change members of the Chrysoberyl family.
Their unique
optical qualities and extreme
hardness have made them some of the rarest
and possibly the most sought after gems.
The
gem’s ideal colour-change
is emerald-green in daylight changing to
purple-red under night lights, but it is still mesmerising in its more
usual muted green or bluish-green in daylight, turning to a soft shade
of red, purple-red or raspberry-red in incandescent light.
By the
justified sinner via Flickr.com The
first Alexandrite crystal was discovered, on the birthday of Czar
Alexander II under the roots of a stunted tree in 1830 by
a farmer who
lived in the Ural Mountains.
By
the justified sinner via Flickr.com Russian
Alexandrite mines do not yield many gems these days, but it has
been located in Brazil, Madagascar, and Zimbabwe.
By
christina rutz via Flickr.com
The Indian
region of Orissa has fine Alexandrite but the crystals are
generally in the half carat or smaller.
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