Info on Alexandrites?

[firesisle]

Hello!

I''m curious because of a ring my father bought in Japan in the 1950''s, for my mother. It''s a large alexandrite, probably at least 6-8 carats, maybe a little bigger. The cut is excellent, and the color change is exceptional and probably about 90% or more, from a teal color to a deep reddish purple, almost an amethyst color. From everything I''ve read, there weren''t any synthetics or substitutes that had such a perfect color change in that time period.

I know that for a really accurate opinion, I''ll need to take it in for lab testing, but I was curious what y''all thought about it.

 

[Missrocks]

You might want to get an opinion by a reputable gemologist / appraiser.. It could also be synthetic color change sapphire, which is often mistaken for alexandrite. A reputable appraiser should be able to do a quick "refractive index" test to determine at least whether it is sapphire vs. alexdrite for sure, and maybe at least give you an idea of whether it is syn. vs. natural before you send it out to the lab. The following paragraph came from www.gia.edu.

"Synthetic color-change corundum (of which ruby and sapphire are varieties) was developed approximately in 1909. The color change in alexandrite-like synthetic sapphire will be bluish purple or greenish blue changing to reddish purple, depending on the growth process used to create the synthetics."

You can google for some pictures.

 

[chrono]

I don''t want to rain on your parade but I''m skeptical of such a large Alex stone from Japan. However, if it''s real, it''s worth a fortune. I recommend getting an appraiser who''s very knowledgeable in gemstones to run tests to make sure it isn''t a synthetic stone.

 

[door knob solitaire]

Sorry to hijack...but my mum has four of the alexandrites. Two are also similar in weight to yours firesisle. She worked in a jewelry store back in 56-59 or so (traded her pay for baubles...what a wise woman). I have also told her they could be valuable...so if you do your appraisal, would you please come back and report what you find? I would appreciate learning what you have. I was so intrigued with them as a child. I have such great memories of the magic. §