Alexandrite was discovered in 1834 in the Ural mountain range, and is named after the Russian Tsar Alexander II, as rumour has it the gemstone was first discovered on the day he came of age. It is a Chrysoberyl, and one of very few gemstones in the world which display a noticeable colour change between daylight and incandescent light. In sunlight, the gem appears greeny blue, whereas incandescent light makes it appear red-purple, the stronger the colour change, the more valuable the gem. As it is so hard to get hold of, most of the crystals sold in jewellery are actually lab grown Alexandrites, genuine Alexandrite jewellery is extremely expensive.
|Main Locations||Russia, Madagascar, Brazil, Sri Lanka|