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ALEXANDRITE THE GREAT
Discovered in the Ural Mountains in the early 1830s, alexandrite is a relatively recent find by mineralogical standards. The surprising characteristic that set alexandrite aside from other gemstones was its astounding ability to change colour depending on the incident light. This extraordinary optical 'colour change' property is manifest in the finest examples of Russian alexandrites which appear a deep emerald green in 'blue' daylight, and a glowing raspberry red under 'red' electric light. The new stone was christened 'alexandrite' in honour of Tzar Alexander II of Russia, on whose birthday the gem was ostensibly unearthed.
Understandably, the discovery in nineteenth century Russia caused a minor sensation, no doubt heightened by the coincidental colour change being the national military colours of Russia.
The original Uralian deposits produced only for a few decades, followed by the discovery of red/green alexandrite in Sri Lanka. Then, in 1987, a new locality in Brazil yielded a fresh source of alexandrite with an extraordinary unknown colour change: from an electric turquoise blue to a deep amethyst purple. Fine examples of these Brazilian gems are now considered almost as valuable as the original old Russian material, and as a rule, stones from any locality over 5 carats in size and with a fine colour change are considered extremely rare. Because of such rarity, 'ideal' colour change gems of any locality are some of the most valuable in the world.
VARIOUS PROPERTIES
AN ALEXANDRITE AND DIAMOND CLUSTER RING
Details
AN ALEXANDRITE AND DIAMOND CLUSTER RING
The cushion-shaped alexandrite weighing 4.66 carats within a pear-shaped diamond surround to the marquise-cut diamond shoulders, mounted in platinum, ring size 6
Accompanied by report no. 0509803 dated 11 October 2005 from the Gübelin Gem Lab stating that the alexandrite is of Brazilian origin, displaying a pronounced colour-change showing a bluish-green in daylight and purple in incandescent light
The cushion-shaped alexandrite weighing 4.66 carats within a pear-shaped diamond surround to the marquise-cut diamond shoulders, mounted in platinum, ring size 6
Accompanied by report no. 0509803 dated 11 October 2005 from the Gübelin Gem Lab stating that the alexandrite is of Brazilian origin, displaying a pronounced colour-change showing a bluish-green in daylight and purple in incandescent light