Alexandrite
 

Hardness:
8.5

Occurrence:
United States, Russia (Ural Mountains), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), Brazil, Madagascar, Italy.

Appearance:
Alexandrite has a natural color change from Blue/Green in sunlight or fluorescent light to Purple/Red in incandescent light. This is a natural phenomena which occurs in few Gemstones. Genuine Alexandrite is a most rare and coveted Gemstone.

Something Extra:
Alexandrite was first discovered in 1830 near the Takovaya River in the Russian Ural Mountains on
Czar Alexander II's 21st birthday and was named Alexandrite in his honor. When the color change
was first noted, the Gem was believed to be evil and possessed. It has earned a better reputation as
time passed, and later it was believed to be a good omen.