How can you tell if it''s a color changing sapphire or an alexandrite?

[jessae]

Hi all! I''m a newbie, I''ve been lurking in the eye candy thread for a couple of days, and came across a picture of someone''s beautiful alexandrite ring which prompted me to post. I have a ring I bought on eBay a few years back for $27(!), the seller said it was custom made for his fiancee or wife, set in white gold, and he said it was a pink sapphire, but when I received it was suprised to find that it changed color. It is a rich rosy pink in indoor light, and pale green in indirect sunlight, to a ligh/medium green in direct sunlight. I just assumed it was a color changing sapphire, but when I saw the alexandrite I thought mine looks exactly like it (although smaller, mine is only 1ct, pear cut). On further research (wikipedia), I found that color-changing sapphires are green INDOORS and pink OUTDOORS, which is the opposite of what mine does, and the alexandrite''s are the same as mine. So, my question is, could mine be an alexandrite, or can color-changing sapphires be reverseved like that? Thanks so much for reading!

 

[Indylady]

It might be an alexandrite, but there isn''t a way for us to confirm that via PS. If you really want to know, you''ll have to send it to a lab. If it is a 1ct alexandrite with good color change, it could be very valuable. Unfortunately, it could also be lab created alexandrite, or even a color change sapphire or garnet. If you''d like, you can post a picture, but we won''t be able to make a definite identification.

I think LovingDiamonds has quite a few color changers, she might be able to tell you more about your particular color shift and give you more insight.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I love color change stones, so much fun.
Anyway, is it a very pale color or a really saturated one? If it is not pale, then I would say that you almost certainly have a lab alexandrite. Natural ones have been expensive for years, and a natural one with a lot of color at that size it worth thousands.

 

[jessae]

Thank you both! I guess I should have a jeweler look at it. The pink is pretty nice, you can see a few pics I just posted in the colored stone thread that's pinned at the top, but the green is pretty pale. I couldn't get any pics of the green, sadly.

 

[Pandora II]

I have a couple of colour change stones:

My colour-change sapphire is teal green in daylight and raspberry red in incandescent light. It''s very alex looking but is 100% a sapphire.

My colour-change garnet is greyish purple-blue in daylight and raspberry red in incandescent.

 

[chrono]

I would suspect a lab created alexandrite based on cost and colour change. Of course, there’s no way of knowing for sure unless you are willing to spend some money to send it to a lab for verification.

 

[LD]

Sounds like a pretty ring!

First of all, if the person you bought it from had it made for his wife (and presumably sourced the stone), there's no way it will be an Alexandrite because you very rarely ever can pick up a 1ct one with decent colour change and certainly never for $27. It also wouldn't ever be confused with a pink sapphire as the two look very different. A 1ct good Alex will cost mega moolah! He certainly would have paid heavily for it. It's highly unlikely that a person sourcing a gemstone would mix up a colour change sapphire with an alexandrite also. So I'd rule that out unfortunately.

So, what are the other options? Colour change sapphire is again unlikely. The reason is that one that replicates an Alexandrite colourway also commands a decent price (and what you've read on the internet is rubbish because they most certainly have the same colourway as an Alexandrite - not the reverse - the reverse colourway gemstones are actually very rare and more likely to be synthetics). So it's probably not that either. Similarly, there are colour change garnets that react in the same way and again, will command a nice price so ........ doubtful it's that. However, it's not impossible that it could be one of those. If it were though, I certainly wouldn't have expected a seller to let it go for $27 as they will have paid considerably more for it.

It's most likely to be a synthetic or simulant - I say this only because (generally speaking) colour change gemstones that have a good difference in colour are expensive but simulants can be purchased quite cheaply. My bet would be vanadium laced corundum or a synthetic sapphire. You can narrow down the possibilities by looking at the inclusions but this will only give a better indication rather than a diagnosis. Unfortunately, synthetic gemstones are now so good that it's incredibly difficult to tell them apart from their natural counterparts. A jeweller is unlikely to be able to tell you because they are SO good that really only identification by a lab will give you a definitive answer. I once bought an "alexandrite" that looked right but for some reason gave me warning bells. The colour change was just too good to be true. I sent it to a lab and sure enough it was synthetic!

Whatever it is, for $27 a white gold ring is a steal of a deal so I'd just wear and enjoy it and let it be mysterious!