Buying Alexandrite

1. Alexandrite is GREEN in its natural state.

In color-change gemstones,  the Standard states the gem must show as bluish green or Emerald green in daylight or fluorescent light and red or purple in incandescent or candlelight.

DID YOU KNOW Alexandrite is the only color change stone in nature in which 100% of the stones change color;

2. Color Change Standards for Alexandrite

The color and strength (percentage) of color-change is another important factor in stone value.

Most gemologists refer to the strength of the color-change by percentage

(with 100% being ideal and stones below 30% not considered)

or

terminology (weak, moderate, strong).

Alexandrite with 100% color-change will show completed color-change on every axis of the gem- all the facets will change color. Looking down through the table of the gem, if half the facets change color the gem is classified as a 50% change, if three-quarters change color it is a 75% color-change etc.

Color is described in gems through: Hue- the exact color in the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet); Intensity or Saturation- the brightness or dullness of the color; Tone- how light or dark the stone is (how much black or white is present); Distribution- the evenness of color throughout the stone (Zoning). When reading a description of the color of a gem if there are mixed hues, the predominant hue is Capitalized and the lesser hue is shown in lower case. For example: bluish-Green; Green is the predominant color and blue is the lesser (underlying) color.

3. If Alexandrite is green why are LAB created gems purple? In my opinion LAB Alexandrite are NOT really a perfect substitute. Lab turn blue in florescent light.

4. Alexandrite is small in its natural state.

Really under 3 mm is about all you will get unless you get a doublet or pay a lot. 3mm is tiny. You cannot afford a bigger stone.

Mining of gem quality alexandrite is extremely rare in sizes over .25 carat. Stones that are less than .50 carats can sell for thousands of dollars. Stones over one carat usually cost in the tens of thousands of dollars for fine quality, while stones over three carats, that are naturally mined, can cost close to $100,000.

BUYING TIPS:

If you want green: Your choice is to buy set natural stone or pay a lot.

Unfortunately  many will sell you a lab created as natural. ASK if it is green.

Many will sell you other materials too as Alexandrite.

Color change or Size  OPTIONS:

A doublet is two natural stones..only a thin layer of Alexandrite on the crown. Sapphire is a typical bottom stone. Doublets look purple to me.


FACTS ABOUT SIMULATED AND LAB STONES

A Simulated stone has the same color and appearance of the natural stone
but has DIFFERENT chemical elements, hardness and crystal structure as the
natural stones.

Synthetic or Lab stones have the SAME chemical elements, color, hardness
and crystal structure as a natural stone but it is created in man made conditions
(laboratory)

I USUALLY prefer lab stones because they look exactly like natural ones with
much better quality and once you have it mounted in a piece of jeweler it
is difficult to tell it from a natural stone.  The lab stone is also environment
safe because it is not extracted from the ground by miners which usually
do not have much respect for nature.

 All three types are listed in ebay and they are often identified by
Simulated, Lab (Synthetic) and Natural.