Alexandrite is one of the rare gemstones found on earth that is known for its color-changing ability. A genuine alexandrite stone can be emerald by day and turn into ruby by night. This eye-catching gemstone was discovered in the late 1900s and was named after Tsar Alexander II of Russia. It is believed that if you're wearing alexandrite Gemstone, you'll get a ton of benefits like proper emotional balance, mental peace, physical strength, and protection from cancer. If you're hearing about this gemstone for the first time, you should know its 4Cs:
1. Clarity
The high clarity of alexandrite is one of the main reasons that are responsible for its color change and saturation. It's important to evaluate the clarity of alexandrite gems, particularly when inspecting the stone in person. For alexandrite, clarity matters less than the effect of its color; it's the color that makes these stones valuable. What makes these stones valuable is their ability to change color, known as pleochroism. An alexandrite gem with a 100 percent change from green to red is more valuable than an eye-clean piece with only a slight color change.
2. Cut
Alexandrite is a gemstone known for its pleochroic color-changing effect when light shines through it. This makes cutting the stone quite a challenge as both of the colors (green and red) need to be present in the cut. To create this work of art, jewelers usually opt to use the brilliant-cut crown and step-cut pavilion combination when making an alexandrite pendant. When lighting from behind, an alexandrite with many flaws may also be cut into a cat’s eye cabochon for an even more stunning visual impact on all sides - plus areas such as the table and pavilion are left sleek instead of being filled up with additional facets in order to minimize inclusions (flaws).
3. Carat Weight
When it comes to a carat weight, the alexandrite used in making jewelry items is under one carat. However, you can also find alexandrite stones with over 5-carat weight but they are very rare. The carat size is the deciding factor for the price of the alexandrite, so you can imagine the price of a 5-carat alexandrite stone.
4. Color
Alexandrite's value depends not just on the stone's tone, hue, and saturation, but also on how vividly it can change color. A quality alexandrite might undergo a dramatic color change that ranges from occurrences of 100% to just 10%.Russian alexandrites are said to be the purest ones (turning bluish-green to purplish-red), whereas Sri Lankan alexandrites are yellowish and brownish, but Brazilian alexandrites show pale colors.
If you're planning to buy an alexandrite necklace, rings, or any jewelry item, you can consider the collection of times offered by The Rare Gem LLC. Based in New York, they hold four decades of experience in selling rare gemstones like alexandrites, sapphires, and more. Buying an item from them gives you peace of mind that you’re buying the authentic piece as you get all kinds of proof for that.