Help with buying the right alexandrite for me

[Laurainthesky]

I have been an unregistered lurker on this forum for years off and on. A few years ago, I bought the perfect pink sapphire for my engagement ring, and I have loved it ever since. Alexandrite buying has a much higher level of difficulty which is why I am here. My budget is 1-2K. The smallest stone I will consider is about 0.30 carat. I am looking for a strong color change. I don't like stones that look black in dim light. I don't need a precision cut, but it should be at least decent enough for some sparkle.
Gemsny is pretty pricey. They were nice enough to send me pictures of the stones on the hand. I've bought a number of gems from multicolour with a good experience in the past. I have a size 4 ring finger, so he suggested buying a stone off the site instead of him remaking a ring from the jewelry site. I found a beautiful heart in an enormous size for my price range. It seems pretty despite the inclusions, but always hard to know without seeing it. Thank you in advance!

 

[Laurainthesky]

I forgot to include the gemny hand pics.

 

[LilAlex]

Have you seen any alex in person? Are you near a big city where you can walk into the best jewelry store and maybe see a low-to-mid five-figure ring with an alex? And be completely underwhelmed...? Speaking from experience.

If you have only seen them online, you are almost certainly in for disappointment. They are cool. They are seldom spectacular. One or both hues will be meh. And you will almost never encounter incandescent light anymore. You can hold it next to the flickering candle on your two-top when that sort of thing is happening again .

If you really know them and have seen a lot of them in person and you know you want Hematita and not Orissa, etc., then nvm .

EDIT: very different from a pink sapphire where you can shop online and even if the color misses a little it is still likely to be very pleasant.

 

[Bron357]

Alexandrites are very difficult to buy on the basis of photos.
Another factor to consider is where you live and time of year as these factors affect the colour change.
So you really need to assess the gemstones in person.
The only one I like is the one from mineral miners. It’s seems to have the most complete and most intense tones at colour change, the others are rather washed out in tone Or showing less than 80% change.
Another point to consider is that mostly inside lights these days are LED or fluorescent, not incandescent so the opportunities for enjoying the colour change effect are limited.
Top quality Alexandrite aren’t cheap to buy unfortunately.

 

[Bron357]

Alexandrites, aside from size, are priced predominantly on the intensity and “trueness” of the colour. In daylight colour you want teal blue green, toning towards yellow is less desirable.
Under incandescent light you want red to purple, toning towards brown or orange is less desirable.
In term of change, you want it to be distinctive and for as close to 100% of the gem as possible.

 

[Laurainthesky]

I have never seen a high quality natural alexandrite in person. I have a synthetic one and a commercial grade one I bought in a ring from an auction at shoplc for $50. My most relevant experience with color changing natural stones is with a color change garnet I have. I have noted that most indoor light is mixed. It is a very interesting gem, but I don't wear it much because the tone is darker than my preference. I did note than many natural alexandrites have grays in tone. I am not looking for profection. Do many of you no longer buy alexandrite? I appreciate your guidance.

What do you think of the included heart? Any of the other stones serviceable aside from the mineral miner one which is a little smaller than I was hoping and possibly sold?

I live near a medium sized city or 75min to a big one of which the traffic scares me

 

[chrono]

I stopped shopping for Alex a long time ago because I can't afford the nice ones, which tends to be $5K and upwards to be somewhat decent. I have also been spoiled by seeing high end alex in person years ago and still kick myself for not buying any then because I thought they were expensive. Turns out they are out of price range today for the same quality.

 

[Laurainthesky]

I stopped shopping for Alex a long time ago because I can't afford the nice ones, which tends to be $5K and upwards to be somewhat decent. I have also been spoiled by seeing high end alex in person years ago and still kick myself for not buying any then because I thought they were expensive. Turns out they are out of price range today for the same quality.

I noticed that few of the recommended vendors on the sticky thead deal in alexandrite, likely for your reasoning. What are your thoughts on the little 0.3-0.5 ct ones? Do you feel that quality is also out of range for these stones?

I love the color changing. The synthetic stone didn't do much for me because I want the real stones. Maybe there are lighter toned nice quality color change garnets out there for me?

 

[chrono]

Not having a time frame will help a lot. I occasionally see a nice alexandrite on MultiColour. I have bought from MineralMiners and it was ok (price and picture accuracy). Too much gray seems to be a common issue, plus dark tone.

The GNY princess cut looks fab in the webpage but dull and pale on the hand. Unfortunately, it seems to be the nicest one on paper/website. Given that, I would keep looking. Will you be able to view any of these in person (US based shops)?

 

[Laurainthesky]

I don't have a time frame other than desire lol. Mineral miners had a couple available, although many were already set in settings I don't want or cannot use.
The biggest city within striking distance is Boston.

 

[Niel]

there was one on eBay I was watching that was listed for 3000 I was like f it let me offer 1k (in that *******) anyways they came back and odder did 1800. It ended up being sold or else I would link it to you but moral of the story lowball that sh!t if you can lol

 

[Laurainthesky]

there was one on eBay I was watching that was listed for 3000 I was like f it let me offer 1k (in that *******) anyways they came back and odder did 1800. It ended up being sold or else I would link it to you but moral of the story lowball that sh!t if you can lol

Which ebay sites are trustworthy? I looked a little at gemrock auction.

 

[Niel]

Which ebay sites are trustworthy? I looked a little at gemrock auction.

There are thousands of sellers on eBay I can’t say which specifically however generally you want to look at ratings- look at returns (though the best prices come without returns) you want to look at their other items for sale - do the photos all look the same or like they stole them from the internet. Things like that

 

[Laurainthesky]

I am willing to accept a little gray/brown, just not so much that it looks dull.

 

[LilAlex]

Which ebay sites are trustworthy? I looked a little at gemrock auction.

If there is corollary to "Don't buy alexandrite online," it would be "NEVER buy them on eBay."

I know one or two of you have gotten lucky doing that.

"Proud" owner of a Gubelin-report Hematita with "strong colour change" (as good as it gets). Both colors are appealing and vivid but it is dark -- especially in mixed lighting (i.e. almost all the time). I kept it because it was cool but I will probably never set it. Not pretty enough for a woman's ring and not enough presence for a man's ring.

 

[lovedogs]

If there is corollary to "Don't buy alexandrite online," it would be "NEVER buy them on eBay."

I know one or two of you have gotten lucky doing that.

"Proud" owner of a Gubelin-report Hematita with "strong colour change" (as good as it gets). Both colors are appealing and vivid but it is dark -- especially in mixed lighting (i.e. almost all the time). I kept it because it was cool but I will probably never set it. Not pretty enough for a woman's ring and not enough presence for a man's ring.

I don't think that's a fair assessment. You *can* but them on ebay, just like you can buy anything on ebay. But you need to know EXACTLY what to look for, watch out for red flags, and ask experts here. But saying "never" isn't accurate IMHO

 

[LilAlex]

I don't think that's a fair assessment. You *can* but them on ebay, just like you can buy anything on ebay.

eBay was OK a decade ago. It is a near-total wasteland now. I say this as a buyer and a seller.

I don't think the OP will be able to find that semi-reliable needle in the eBay haystack, but perhaps you can. I feel that I'm pretty savvy and I know I can't.

 

[emmy12]

Will second everyone above that the Color change of alexandrite is hard to capture on film!

if the strong color change is really what you're after, you're either going to have to blow your budget to get what you're envisioning....or go with a lab-grown stone.

I know PS on the whole doesn't love synthetic/lab grown stones, but I can personally vouch for the Chatham Alexandrites for having a stunning color change for a (really) reasonable price.

My boyfriend and I had seen alexandrites on the cruise ship and he thought they were incredible, but when he went to research and buy one, he realized that for the color change he wanted it would be entirely out of his price range.

Instead he got me a .75ct equivalent oval from Chatham that we set into a pendant. The color change is amazing and everyone who notices it comments on how beautiful it is. It's a bright emerald-teal in the sunlight and a bright ruby-amethyst in incandescent light. These photos do not do the stone justice at all.

Can always upgrade to a real one in the future, but this would give you something in the mean time that you love (size and color change) and won't be disappointed with.

(My design, made by Greenlake Jewelry Works in Bellevue)

 

[lovedogs]

I think lab grown alexandrite is a great choice, especially while saving up and/or waiting to find a natural one (since they are so freaking hard to find in attractive colors and with good color change).

 

[ShinyPink]

I have a lovely little alexandrite I purchased from Yvonne @CecileRaleyDesigns on etsy. She's one of the few I would trust with this type of stone purchase online. You might want to check with her.

 

[Laurainthesky]

Will second everyone above that the Color change of alexandrite is hard to capture on film!

if the strong color change is really what you're after, you're either going to have to blow your budget to get what you're envisioning....or go with a lab-grown stone.

I know PS on the whole doesn't love synthetic/lab grown stones, but I can personally vouch for the Chatham Alexandrites for having a stunning color change for a (really) reasonable price.

My boyfriend and I had seen alexandrites on the cruise ship and he thought they were incredible, but when he went to research and buy one, he realized that for the color change he wanted it would be entirely out of his price range.

Instead he got me a .75ct equivalent oval from Chatham that we set into a pendant. The color change is amazing and everyone who notices it comments on how beautiful it is. It's a bright emerald-teal in the sunlight and a bright ruby-amethyst in incandescent light. These photos do not do the stone justice at all.

Can always upgrade to a real one in the future, but this would give you something in the mean time that you love (size and color change) and won't be disappointed with.

(My design, made by Greenlake Jewelry Works in Bellevue)

I do have a synthetic. I don't love it because I am a natural gem snob . I don't need the best of the museum best of color change. Just enough that I can enjoy day to day. I like the color change of the garnet I have, but it is too dark to enjoy in a ring. I even like a little the very crappy alexandrite ring I got cheap on auction from shoplc. So I may not be as picky as some.

 

[lovedogs]

Found these on multicoulor that I think are worth considering (see that one is the pear you linked above).

https://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1480168381 (this is the one you had pictures of above)

Loose gemstones, rare colored stones, pearls and certified diamonds.

Buy loose gemstones and certified diamonds direct. Choose from over 10.000 real time gemstone inventory, including alexandrite, sapphire, ruby, tanzanite, tsavorite, spinel and tourmaline.

www.multicolour.com

Loose gemstones, rare colored stones, pearls and certified diamonds.

Buy loose gemstones and certified diamonds direct. Choose from over 10.000 real time gemstone inventory, including alexandrite, sapphire, ruby, tanzanite, tsavorite, spinel and tourmaline.

www.multicolour.com

https://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1675149676 **this is definitely my favorite in terms of color change and saturatiion, but it's also the smallest.

 

[Bron357]

I’m a long time eBay buyer. My magnificent Alexandrite bracelet came from eBay but as an 18 year eBay veteran it was a once in a lifetime score.
I would buy this Alexandrite from eBay.
The seller is reputable and long standing.
Of course, it’s difficult to judge how it will look in daylight but to me, the daylight colour is very attractive and as that the colour you’ll mostly see, it’s important to go with one with a good daylight colour. Check the attached video for the colour change.
ebay number is 284007164131

 

[Laurainthesky]

eBay was OK a decade ago. It is a near-total wasteland now. I say this as a buyer and a seller.

I don't think the OP will be able to find that semi-reliable needle in the eBay haystack, but perhaps you can. I feel that I'm pretty savvy and I know I can't.

I’m a long time eBay buyer. My magnificent Alexandrite bracelet came from eBay but as an 18 year eBay veteran it was a once in a lifetime score.
I would buy this Alexandrite from eBay.
The seller is reputable and long standing.
Of course, it’s difficult to judge how it will look in daylight but to me, the daylight colour is very attractive and as that the colour you’ll mostly see, it’s important to go with one with a good daylight colour. Check the attached video for the colour change.
ebay number is 284007164131

I like a lot about this stone. It does have a prominent window :/. I'm not sure I can look past that. Thank you so much for looking for me

 

[Laurainthesky]

Found these on multicoulor that I think are worth considering (see that one is the pear you linked above).

https://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1480168381 (this is the one you had pictures of above)

Loose gemstones, rare colored stones, pearls and certified diamonds.

Buy loose gemstones and certified diamonds direct. Choose from over 10.000 real time gemstone inventory, including alexandrite, sapphire, ruby, tanzanite, tsavorite, spinel and tourmaline.

www.multicolour.com

Loose gemstones, rare colored stones, pearls and certified diamonds.

Buy loose gemstones and certified diamonds direct. Choose from over 10.000 real time gemstone inventory, including alexandrite, sapphire, ruby, tanzanite, tsavorite, spinel and tourmaline.

www.multicolour.com

https://www.multicolour.com/detail/?-1675149676 **this is definitely my favorite in terms of color change and saturatiion, but it's also the smallest.

I saw that little one too! If it was closer to 4mm, I would have gone for it. The pear looks like I won't have to worry about it being dark and it is pretty nice sized.

 

[peacechick]

There is this pretty alexandrite on IG and it is over 1 ct and comes with an AGL report, maybe worth reaching out to ask for a price? They also had other shapes, including a pretty 1 ct round.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKmdu9SB5w4/

 

[emmy12]

I do have a synthetic. I don't love it because I am a natural gem snob . I don't need the best of the museum best of color change. Just enough that I can enjoy day to day. I like the color change of the garnet I have, but it is too dark to enjoy in a ring. I even like a little the very crappy alexandrite ring I got cheap on auction from shoplc. So I may not be as picky as some.

Fair enough! Can't blame a gal for wanting a natural stone
Hope you find the right one!

 

[peacechick]

Ok just realized how expensive those big alexandrites are! Probably way out of budget! But on their website I saw some pre-set rings and this one with a 0.3 ct pear is quite pretty.

Pear Shape Alexandrite Ring 0.31 cts with Halo | Rare Gem Collection

Shop finest quality Pear Shape Alexandrite Ring at best prices online from Rare Gem Collection. The best selection of beautiful necklaces, pendant & wedding rings.

www.raregemcollection.com

This one with a 0.4 oval.

Oval Shape Alexandrite Ring 0.40 cts with 3-Stone Illusion and Channel Set Diamond Band | Rare Gem Collection

Shop oval shape alexandrite ring 0.40 cts with 3-stone illusion and channel set diamond band from Rare Gem Collection. The ring is set in a solid 18K Rose Gold band.

www.raregemcollection.com

 

[Laurainthesky]

Ok just realized how expensive those big alexandrites are! Probably way out of budget! But on their website I saw some pre-set rings and this one with a 0.3 ct pear is quite pretty.

Pear Shape Alexandrite Ring 0.31 cts with Halo | Rare Gem Collection

Shop finest quality Pear Shape Alexandrite Ring at best prices online from Rare Gem Collection. The best selection of beautiful necklaces, pendant & wedding rings.

www.raregemcollection.com

This one with a 0.4 oval.

Oval Shape Alexandrite Ring 0.40 cts with 3-Stone Illusion and Channel Set Diamond Band | Rare Gem Collection

Shop oval shape alexandrite ring 0.40 cts with 3-stone illusion and channel set diamond band from Rare Gem Collection. The ring is set in a solid 18K Rose Gold band.

www.raregemcollection.com

I will check those out. The little one has an amazing purple. Yeah. I would embarrass myself and insult them by offer 2K

 

[Laurainthesky]

I just bought this for funsies. It is a little gray, but I like that the tone is not that dark. I haven't given up on alexandrites even though this little $96 garnet looks like a lot of the $$$ alexandrites I am looking at lol.