DETAIL: Beware! The vast majority of alexandrite offered in the USA is synthetic. The American Gemological Institute estimates that less than 1 in every 100,000 Americans has ever even seen genuine, natural alexandrite. This is a very beautiful, brilliant, rare, natural green (color change) alexandrite gemstone which originated in Brazil. The gemstone was hand crafted and faceted by a Russian artisan, following in the footsteps of a centuries-old heritage renown for the production of the elaborate gemstones and jewelry of the Czars of Medieval, Renaissance, and Victorian Russia. As you can see in these photo enlargements, the gemstone is not absolutely without blemish. However to the unaided eye of the casual admirer eye it is clean and without discernible blemish. 
If one scrutinizes the gemstone very closely one can make out a couple of minute blemishes, even with the naked eye – that is, if your vision is very sharp, and you hold the gemstone right up to your nose, you can just make out a number of a little bitty pinprick sized specks. They are so small that from most angles you cannot see them at all, and the ONLY way to see them is from precisely a certain angle of view, held very close to your eyes, otherwise they simply cannot be seen at all. Of course flawless gemstones are simply not the norm for natural gemstones (in particular, most “flawless alexandrite” turns out to be synthetic). Once mounted into a ring or pendant setting these miniscule little specks would be virtually impossible to discern without the aid of a jeweler’s loupe. On the other hand, though the gemstone is not absolutely unblemished, the color change, as you can see, is very pronounced – exceptional in fact!
It is not uncommon for alexandrite to have very small blemishes within the gemstone, and it is obvious from looking at these 600% photo enlargements that this gemstone possesses just such blemishes. Again, these are not at all discerned by the casual admirer, and even upon close inspection with the naked eye all that can be seen is the most minute little pinprick speck. Even then it is only visible from certain angles of view, and entirely invisible from most all other angles. Again, once set into a pendant or ring it would be almost impossible for anyone to discern with the naked eye no matter how acute their vision. However if you look closely at the gemstone through a jeweler’s loupe, or in the 600% photo enlargements, then these blemishes are certainly discernible, though even then they are not grossly disfiguring or obnoxious.
The gemstone is green with very slight steely undertones, when it is so inclined, at least. This is the color you will observe when the gemstone is outdoors or under indirect lighting. However under strong white light, indoors for instance, the stone magically transforms itself into a hue ranging from a bright raspberry-pink, to a saturated blue-violet. No matter what light source we used to image this gemstone, whether scanner or camera, it turned color. In hand, out of doors, it is most assuredly green. But the charm of these remarkable gemstones, at least in the higher qualities, is the dramatic color change they are capable of. And true to its reputation, the light of the scanner turned this precious gemstone raspberry pink, a decent digital camera showed the color as blue-violet. All of these pictures are of the same gemstone! The color depends upon the light source (color spectrum) and intensity/brightness. This remarkable gemstone is capable of all of those colors, a true chameleon, quite an extraordinary precious gemstone.
The green images were produced using a filter which suppresses the normal color change so as to produce an image to show you the normal color of the gemstone). But the remaining images which were produced with a high definition scanner and a high quality Nikon digital camera give more detail and show you what the gemstone looks like when “fully illuminated” when indoors. This fascinating and sumptuous gemstone was hand crafted into this sparkling faceted trillion cut gemstone in Yekaterinburg, Russia, the fabled land of the incredibly sophisticated, sumptuous gemstones and jewelry of the Czars. It is a gorgeous gemstone, full of fire and sparkle, vibrant, and possessing good clarity and color. It is truly a special gemstone, quite rare. And while I will admit to a preference for the slightly different green of Russian alexandrite (though I must confess to a certain prejudice as I am from Russia), the purple color shift exhibited by this Brazilian alexandrite will exceed most any Russian alexandrite in hue and intensity. It really does evidence remarkable color when in the purple/raspberry shift.
Under magnification the gemstone shows the unmistakable characteristics of having been hand crafted. The relative coarseness of handcrafted gemstone as opposed to the unvarying rigidity of a laser-cut gemstone is considered appealing to most gemstone collectors, and is not considered a detriment, or detract from the value of a gemstone. These characteristics are not only expected of hand-finished gemstones, most serious collectors consider such gemstones more desirable, possessed of greater character and uniqueness when compared to today's cookie-cutter mass-produced machine-faceted gemstones. Unlike today’s computer controlled machine produced gemstones, the cut and finish of a gemstone such as this is the legacy of many centuries of artisan tradition.
For those who do not know, Russian alexandrite was only produced for about fifteen years during Czarist (Imperial Russia), in the nineteenth century, before the only known mine of any significance played out. For over a hundred years the sole source of alexandrite was "recycled" Russian jewelry. Russian alexandrite is still considered to be the world's best, though very small deposits of alexandrite have been found outside of the Ural Mountains in recent years principally in Brazil, Africa, India and Ceylon. Though generally inferior to Russian alexandrite, nonetheless there are still some exceptional specimens such as this, which have origins outside Russia. Given the rarity of the gemstone, and the enormous demand, reasonably good specimens of Alexandrite from anywhere in the world are hard to find. Flawless or near flawless specimens of any significant size have almost resulted in duels between buyers vying for the privilege of being a selected purchaser.
This gemstone has great luster and tremendous flash and sparkle, and to the eye is completely transparent, but it is not absolutely flawless. True, the blemishes it possesses are very difficult to discern to the naked eye, and the gemstone can be characterized, to use trade jargon, as “eye clean” to the casual admirer (or perhaps “near eye clean” to the grumpy critic). However magnified six times over as it is here, you can see a number of miniscule blemishes within the gemstone. Of course the same may said about almost any natural gemstone. An absolutely flawless gemstone simply is not the rule in nature. Most absolutely flawless gemstones will upon close examination be revealed to be synthetic. You might also notice under magnification occasional irregularities in the cut and finish. However for most, the unique nature and character of gemstones such as this more than makes up for cutting and finishing irregularities which by and large, are only visible under magnification.
HISTORY: Most sources credit the discovery of this very unique gemstone to the year 1830 on the birthday of Prince (and ultimately Czar) Alexander II in the Ural mountains in Russia. In celebration of Prince Alexander's coming-of-age, this remarkable gemstone was named after him. Alexandrite was popular in imperial Russia both with the royal family and the wealthy elite, both because of its association with the Czar, and because red and green were the colors of the Russian Empire. Alexandrite is known as a "color change" gemstone. It is emerald green in daylight, and a purplish red under artificial lights or twilight. It belongs to the chrysoberyl family of gems, and one of the most extraordinary types is a cats-eye variety of alexandrite, possessing a remarkably prominent "cat's eye".
Alexandrite is well known as an extremely scarce and very costly gem. The quality of color change with different illumination is the primary basis for its quality and price. No more than one person out of 100,000 has ever seen a real Alexandrite gemstone, although synthetic Alexandrite is common and widely available. It is likely that if you read the fine print of 99% of the Alexandrite offered at retail jeweler's, you will find it to be "laboratory produced" - synthetic. If there is a huge color change from a very intense green to a very intense purple, you can be 99.9% sure that both the color change and the gemstone itself is synthetic. The shift in color of natural gemstones is much more subtle. Kind of like the difference in taste between fruit juice and Kool-Aide. One is subtle and natural, the other brassy and synthetic.
However even as an artificially grown stone, alexandrite often commands a retail price of $300.00 to $500.00 per carat. Of course, alexandrite can be found in Russian jewelry of the imperial era, as it was well loved by the Russian master jewelers. Master gemologist George Kunz of Tiffany was a fan of alexandrite, and the company produced many rings featuring fine alexandrite in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, including some set in platinum from the twenties. Some Victorian jewelry from England features sets of small alexandrite. However the original source in Russia's Ural Mountains has long since closed after producing for only a few decades, and only a few stones can be found on the Russian market today.
In the past 15 years some very small deposits of Alexandrite have been discovered in Brazil, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mozambique, and India. However most Brazilian gemstones tend to have washed out colors when cut, and the African and Celanese sources produce very dark, not brightly colored gemstones. Indian alexandrite is generally of very low quality and badly blemished. The cut Alexandrite originating from Russia is usually "harvested" from vintage jewelry. For over a century this source of "recycled" gemstones from Russia was the only source of Alexandrite, and for many years, alexandrite was almost impossible to find because there was so little available. Russian Alexandrite remains elusive. A few specimens are still found from time-to-time in the Ural Mountains of Russia, and are sometimes available as an unset stone, but it is extremely rare in fine qualities. Stones over 5 carats are almost unknown.
You might guess I travel extensively for a living. My profession is a purchasing agent for antique gemstones, which generally come from Russia, India, Ceylon, and Siam. I grew up in the Southern Urals of Russia, just miles away from some of the greatest gemstone producing regions in the world’s history. Alexandrite, diamond, emerald, sapphire, chrysoberyl, topaz, demantoid garnet, and many other rare and precious gemstones are produced from the mountains within mere minutes or a few hours from the city I once called home. My interest in the fabulous history of Russian gemstones and the fabulous jewelry of the Czar’s led to further education and contacts in India, Ceylon, and Siam, other ancient centers of gemstone production and finishing. Though perhaps difficult to find in the USA, antique gemstones are commonly unmounted from old, broken settings – the gold reused – the gemstones recut and reset.
Before this happens, before these gorgeous antique gemstones are recut, I try to acquire the best of them in their original, antique, hand-finished state – most of them centuries old. I believe that the work created by these long-gone master artisans is worth protecting and preserving rather than destroying this heritage of antique gemstones by recutting the original work out of existence. That by preserving their work, in a sense, we are preserving their lives and the legacy they left for modern times. Far better to appreciate their craft than to destroy it with modern cutting. Not everyone agrees – fully 95% or more of the antique gemstones which come into these marketplaces are recut, and the heritage of the past lost. But if you agree with me that the past is worth protecting, and that past lives and the produce of those lives still matters today, consider buying an antique, hand cut, natural gemstone rather than one of the mass-produced machine cut (often synthetic or “lab produced”) gemstones which dominate the market today.
I can set most any antique gemstone you purchase from me, in your choice of styles and metals ranging from rings to pendants to earrings and bracelets; in sterling silver, 14kt solid gold, and 14kt gold fill. In my travels back and forth between the USA, Asia, and Eastern Europe I also tend to accumulate a lot of books, CD’s, and audio recordings. So I oftentimes have lightly used CD’s, once-read books, audio recordings, and even some antique books I buy in Europe for sale as well. And occasionally I will find such a good buy on contemporary jewelry for my clients that I will purchase a few extra pieces to offer on eBay. These are always offered clearly labeled as contemporary, and not antiques – just to avoid confusion. I also end up with boatloads of jewelry and gemstone samples which were not fully distributed to the retailers I purchase on behalf of. Some really great pieces, including antiques, pearls, as well as some pieces of antique Russian jewelry.
I have always been fascinated with jewelry and gemstones. Bangkok, Taipei, Hong Kong, Moscow, and Bombay are great places to find incredible deals on both gemstones and jewelry, and over the years I have made many friends within the trade in these five cities. So you can look for a steady flow of little treasures I discover in my travels, and I will be happy to share with you the best deals I can find through my industry acquaintances in these far-off Asian lands. Though I spend a good part of each year in Europe and Asia, most of the year I am here in the United States, and that's where all of my little treasures are. So you can count on quick shipping and careful packaging. And if I am not home - I have someone who does it for me!
Domestic shipping is $3.99 for first class mail or $6.99 for Priority Mail. Domestic rates include USPS Delivery Confirmation (you might be able to update the status of your shipment on-line at the USPS Web Site
). Canadian shipments are $3.99 for Air Mail; International shipments are $4.99 for Air Mail (and generally are NOT tracked; trackable shipments are EXTRA). I can add most other items I sell to the shipment for only $0.99 each. Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment. We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers. 
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