Alexandrite is a beautiful gemstone that has chameleon like qualities. It appears mostly in blueish soft green color in the sunlight and has somewhat reddish purple or brownish red color in the incandescent light from candles or lamps. This stone is often called “Emerald by day and Ruby by night” due to its color change. Even though Alexandrite is not the only stone that has this ability, the change that appears in Alexandrite is the most dramatic and often called as “Alexandrite effect”.
Alexandrite was found back in 1830s in Russia’s Ural Mountains and quickly became a popular stone especially since red and green colors are mirrored in the Imperial Russian flag. This largely led to excessive demand of the gemstone and caused depletion of supply in the Urals. It should noted that Alexandrite found in this region is often viewed as of high quality that vividly changes the color and therefore is largely desired. Even nowadays due to shortage of gemstone production in this region, it is highly priced and often sold at estate auctions.
Pricing of the gemstone is mostly based on the strength of color change and on how pure is the shade of Alexandrite. It is almost always more costly than sapphire, emerald and ruby. Due to its scarcity, Alexandrite is considered to be relatively expensive especially those that are over 3 carats are costly and are in high demand.
Nowadays the stone is mostly coming from Sri Lanka, East Africa and Brazil. Brazilian Alexandrite exhibit better color change and is in high demand, however there is significant differentiation between Brazilian and Russian one. The latter type is often viewed as the quality standard for the stone.
The stone is believed to dispel negative energy and illuminates positive vibes that are absorbed from our surroundings. It is also largely viewed as talisman that brings good fortune to its owner.
