We do not carry alexandrite, and at bead prices it would not be real. The natural stone is among the rarest gems; cheap 'alexandrite' is color-change glass or lab-made.
Chrysoberyl · Chrysoberyl
Alexandrite
Alejandrita
- Palette
- Green Purple
- Mined in
- Brazil, Sri Lanka, Russia, India, Madagascar, Tanzania
- Hardness
- Mohs 8.5 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- 1790
- Named for
- Alexander II, the future Russian emperor
- Also sold as
- Color-change chrysoberyl
- Intention
- Strength Abundance
- Looking for
- Confidence and self-worth Luck Joy
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Real alexandrite is rarely sold as beads. Strands sold under this name are most often lab-made stones or look-alike corundum, so the real mineral is the exception.
Not in our pieces now
26.75 CARATS
A showpiece cushion-cut alexandrite of 26.75 carats looks bluish green in daylight and purple-red under incandescent light.
8.5 ON MOHS
Alexandrite is chrysoberyl, the third-hardest commonly encountered natural gemstone, ranking between corundum at 9 and topaz at 8.
What it is
A rare chrysoberyl that looks green in daylight and reddish to purple under incandescent light, because chromium absorbs a narrow band of yellow. Natural stones are small and costly; most 'alexandrite' sold as beads is lab-made, color-change glass or synthetic corundum, not the natural mineral.
What gives it its color
Real alexandrite is colored by a trace of chromium in chrysoberyl, which absorbs yellow light so the stone looks green in daylight and reddish under lamplight; strands sold as alexandrite are usually lab-made stones or color-change corundum.
Where it comes from
Alexandrite was first found in Russia's Ural Mountains, where reopened mines yield a few carats a year; Brazil, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Myanmar, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and India's Andhra Pradesh also produce it, and most large stones today come from antique jewelry.
In history
A sample from the Ural emerald mines of Russia, which opened in 1831, was first taken for emerald; the Finnish mineralogist Nils Gustaf Nordenskiold found it was a new color-changing chrysoberyl. It was named for the future Tsar Alexander II, in a naming dated to his sixteenth birthday, 17 April 1834. For a century and a half the Urals were the only source of large stones, until bigger ones turned up in Brazil.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, alexandrite is a stone of confidence, optimism and joy. People also keep it for luck.
In Russia it was taken up as a stone of good omen, since its red and green match the national colors.
People wear it as jewelry or carry it in a pocket.
How people wear or keep it: As jewelry, in a pocket, or in the receiving hand.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, alexandrite is paired with the heart chakra, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: as jewelry, in a pocket, in the receiving hand. People reach for it when they want confidence and self-worth, luck, joy, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraHeart
ZodiacScorpio
BirthstoneJune
Anniversary12th
ElementEarth
Also calledColor-change chrysoberyl
Care
- Very hard, so it survives daily wear, but a hard knock or sudden heat can still damage it.
- Warm soapy water and a soft brush are the safe way to clean a real stone.
- Color-change glass or synthetic beads are softer than the real mineral: keep them away from hard knocks and harsh cleaners.
- Store apart from softer stones.
How to tell what you have
- Real alexandrite looks green in daylight and reddish-purple under a warm bulb. A look-alike corundum shows a purple-mauve shift but never any green.
- Lab-grown stones can be nearly identical to natural ones, and some have clean, curved growth lines under a loupe, so a lab report is the only sure answer for a stone sold as natural.
What sets the price
Real alexandrite is priced by how strongly and completely it changes color from green to red and by size; strands sold under the name are usually lab-made stones or look-alikes, which are priced as what they actually are.
Rules and sourcing
Strands sold as alexandrite are most often lab-made stones or look-alike corundum. Under the FTC jewelry guides a seller must say lab-created or simulated, not plain alexandrite.
Questions people ask at our table
What is alexandrite?
A color-change variety of chrysoberyl, beryllium aluminum oxide, at Mohs hardness 8.5. It looks green in daylight and reddish under incandescent light.
Why don't you carry it?
Natural alexandrite is one of the rarest gemstones and is sold by the carat for very high prices. We will not sell anything labeled alexandrite at bead prices.
Is alexandrite sold as beads real?
Almost never. Low-priced 'alexandrite' is usually lab-made: color-change glass, synthetic corundum or lab-grown chrysoberyl. A price that looks too low is the clue, and only a gem lab can say for sure.
Where does it come from?
Brazil and Sri Lanka are major sources, with the Ural Mountains of Russia, India, Madagascar and Tanzania also named.
What if I want a color-change look?
Moonstone, labradorite and fluorite are the stones we carry that shift in the light or show several colors.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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