(((((( I hope that this guide will be helpful and informative and will help you make a more informed decision when buying Alexandrite and to know the differance between Chrysoberyl and Alexandrite.

I would be very grateful if you would please mark YES below if you have found this guide to be helpful.... ))))

This guide is meant for those that are somewhat educated on the subject of Alexandrite, and for those that have never bought nor have seen an Alexandrite.  It is one of the rarest gemstones on Earth!!

First of all, it would be good to know where and how Alexandrite was discovered. It was discovered in 1830 in the Ural mountains of Russia.  Miners noticed that in daylight the gemstone would be Green or green/Blue, but in candlelight the gemstone would be Red,  Purple or Purple/Red. Alexandrite was named for Alexander the Czar of Russia at that time.

Alexandrite is a variety of  the Gemstone Chrysoberyl.   There are traces of Chromium present in Alexandrite that are not in Chryosberyl.  This gives Alexandrite it's ability to change color under differant lighting sources, such Sunlight, incandescent lighting or Candlelight.  Chrysoberyl itself,  is Either Yellow, Green or Yellowish Green. It too, can have color changing properties because of other trace elements, but the color change is so weak or the color qualifications that make it Alexandrite are so differant eg. Color change of (Green to Blue or Green to Yellow), that it is not considered an Alexandrite.  Chrysoberyl itself has no color changing properties.   It cannot change color without other trace elements present...

To qualify as an Alexandrite, the gem must conform to certain conditions. The first of which and the single most important thing, is it's COLOR CHANGE and the strength of that color change!!  The primary daytime color or the color that an Alexandrite should be in sunlight, to be considered an Alexandrite, is Green. It can be any varience of Green, but must contain Green as the primary color.  For example..Green or Green/yellow or Green/ blue or green/Blue or Blue/Green.  I have had many people ask me what color must an Alexandrite be to be considered an Alexandrite in incandescent lighting or in Candlelight. It should be Purple, Purple/red, Red or Red/ purple or Red/Orange or Orange/Red brownish,  and MUST be one of these colors or color combinations in Candlelight to be considered an Alexandrite. 

I have seen sellers selling what they call Alexandrite, but they are in fact NOT Alexandrite.  They have a Sunlight to Incandescent light or Candlelight change of  Green to Blue, Purple to Red, Yellow to Green or are just Yellow or Green with NO color change.  These are NOT Alexandrites.  They may be color change Chrysoberyl in the case of the Green to Blue color change, but they are not Alexandrite.  If there is no color change at all, then they are classified as Chrysoberyl.

I have seen many, so called Alexandrites on the internet, that have a Sunlight to Candlelight color change of Yellow to Green or Blue to Purple or Blue to Red or any other color or color combinations, that are NOT the color combinations, that I have stated eariler.  These are simply NOT Alexandrite and will not grade out as such.  Please be aware of this!!  There is such a thing as a color change Chrysoberyl as I have mentioned, but it is NOT an Alexandrite. It MUST change to the colors in Sunlight and candlelight that I first stated or it is NOT an Alexandrite.

There are a couple of  factors that make an Alexandrite an Alexandrite. It must change to one of the colors or color combinations that I stated earler in both Sunlight and Candlelight. It must have a color change percentage that is over 30% or it will be considered a color change Chrysoberyl.

There are many other factors on which an Alexandrite is judged. Besides the famous 4 C's of which all gemstones are graded (Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat.)  An Alexandrite unlike them, will be judged on the strength of it's color change, and the amount of saturation (how light or dark the color saturation is.)  Many folks are dissapointed when an Alexandrite has flaws or inclusions.  I will tell you that any Alexandrite over 2 carats that is flawless is rarer than  Alexandrite itself, and you should be careful to buy such an Alexandrite without these notable Inclusions.  Inclusions show that the Alexandrite is in fact Natural or is certainly more pron to be a Natural gemstone.  Nothing is conclusive without testing. While inclusions are not pretty in most cases, it is in fact the color change of an Alexandrite that is the most important thing, PERIOD!!  In other words,  a one Carat flawless Alexandrite with little to no color change is worth much much less than a 1 Carat flawed Alexandrite with very STRONG color change.

There are many informative websites on the internet that can help explain what Alexandrite is and what it is not.  Type in your browser..."False Marketing of Alexandrite", and you will find an article,  that explains what colors an Alexandrite must change to, to be considered an Alexandrite.  Please be sure to know your seller if buying an Alexandrite without a C.O.A,  and if they offer a Certificate of Authenticity from a reputable Gem lab such as AIGS, GIA or AGS so much the better.   These labs are meant to help identify the gemstone as being what they say it is.   If the lab has determined that the Gemstone is an Alexandrite for example, then it is an Alexandrite!  They do several tests such as UV, Specific Gravity tests, use of a Refractometer etc.  to determine the authenticity of the Gemstone.   Natural Chrysoberyl that is marked on the C.O.A as being Alexandrite or  Natural Chrysoberyl-Alexandrite, is indeed an Alexandrite.  

Thank you and good luck in all of your Alexandrite purchases....