About Alexandrite

Look

Alexandrite is an enchanting gemstone with transformative properties that have captivated wearers for centuries.
Alexandrite is a color-shifting gem that assumes a bluish mossy green hue in daylight and radiates a reddish raspberry tone in lamplight. Shades of lighter green, yellow, brown to greenish black are also possible.

Lore

Discovered in the 1830’s in Czarist Russia, it was named after Alexander II. The czar’s lengthy 26-year reformist reign afforded him the nickname “Alexander the Liberator.”
The finest Alexandrite mine, nestled in the Ural Mountain region in Russia ceased operations after only a few decades of producing rough. Stones acquired from the Urals are still considered the finest in the trade and as a result any gems bearing Russian certificates of origin are highly prized.
TWhile some Alexandrite is found in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe they do not possess color-shifting properties as intense as the Russian variety. For years it seemed that the enamoring gems of the Czars were destined for the history books.
However, in 1987 a new vein of Alexandrite was found in the Brazilian region of Hematita. Thanks to this remarkable find we are again able to indulge in these rare and cherished symbols of 19th century nobility.