Alexandrite is still a very young gem, because it was found only in the nineteenth century.
Natural stone is a rare mineral and therefore highly valued all over the world, which is expressed in its value of tens of thousands of dollars. A feature of this stone is its ability, depending on the lighting, to change its color - pleochroism - from emerald green to bright red. The purer the output color, the more expensive the alexandrite.
Ural stone is widely used in the production of jewelry, which amaze with its beauty and grace. It also finds application in science - quantum mechanics, medicine, cosmetology (synthetic analogues).
History of the Ural gem
Alexandrite was discovered in the Urals in 1934 on the sixteenth birthday of Emperor Alexander II by the Finnish geologist N. Nordenschild. Since it was the coming of agetsar, the stone was named after him and presented to the birthday man by jewelry craftsman Perovsky.
But the first mention of the Peacock's Eye nugget was found in the four-thousand-year-old Indian treatise Mahabharata.
The mineral was especially popular among the noble society in the nineteenth century and cost fabulous money.
In Russia, since 1980, they began to grow and create artificial synthetic minerals - fakes for natural stone, the cost of which was several times cheaper.
Currently, the main volume of production falls on large deposits located in Brazil, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Africa and Russia (Malyshevskoye field). Ural alexandrites are the most valuable minerals, as they have a bright color and a contrasting transition from one to another.
Types of alexandrites
In nature, you can find these types of this mineral:
- Tsimofan, in the common people is called the cat's eye. It is very rarely found. The light effect of this variety is obtained due to the fact that a large number of small inclusions in the mineral are oriented in the same direction. Therefore, under certain illumination, a bright stripe similar to a cat's eye appears in the middle part of the stone.
- Ural alexandrite is the most valuable stone, the color of which changes from green to red.
- In India, a variety is mined that changes color from yellow to pink.
Chemical composition of the Ural gem
BThe composition of the mineral contains mainly chromium (giving green), titanium and iron (red elements). It is the properties of chromium ions and the crystal lattice that cause the stone to change color. Vanadium is rarely found among inclusions, which is also capable of influencing the transformation of alexandrite.
Ural natural stone has the formula BeAI2O4, which is due to the chemical composition of the complex beryllium aluminum tetroxide, and is a kind of chrysoberyl mineral.
Another feature of this mineral is its hardness, which is higher than that of an emerald. It is eight and a half units according to the Moss scale.
The density of alexandrite is determined by a fork 3, 5-3, 8 g/cm3, and the light refraction is 1, 74-1, 76.
Healing properties
Traditional healers claim that it is worth paying attention to the healing properties of alexandrite:
- stops bleeding;
- it cleans the blood;
- used in the treatment of blood vessels and the heart;
- positively affects the functioning of the spleen and liver;
- helps with diseases of the pancreas;
- treats alcoholism;
- manages neurological disorders.
Traditional medicine advises wearing jewelry made with this stone, for example, a ring with Ural alexandrite.
Magic endows this mineral with the ability to enhance the qualities inherent in a particular person:the weak subjugates his power and can destroy, and the strong - supports and helps to overcome problems.
It is also believed that this gem has different properties depending on the time of day: in the evening it enhances feelings of jealousy and passion, in the afternoon - confidence and calmness.
And since the assassination of the Russian emperor in Russia, a tradition has appeared of wearing this stone by widows as evidence of the loss of a loved one.
In India, the nugget is considered a symbol of peace and is worn by the clergy.
Rules for stone care
In order for a product made of a precious mineral to last longer, it is necessary to follow a number of rules:
- must take off jewelry when cleaning around the house;
- to clean the product, you need to use plain soap and hot water - no chemicals;
- use soft, lint-free cloths for polishing;
- while working in laboratories or in production, do not wear products on your hands.
How to wear alexandrite: signs
The right combination of jewelry and clothes will perfectly complement the creation of the image. When wearing products from this mineral, you should heed the following tips:
- signs say that you should not wear a mineral as an independent jewelry (this can scare away good luck), for example, earrings with Ural alexandrite should be combined with rings in which other stones are inserted;
- products with this gem is worthput on first, take off last;
- You can wear alexandrite regardless of the time of day - it is always gorgeous, but especially beautiful in artificial light, when it turns bright red;
- the best metal for setting a nugget is gold, which enhances its beauty and radiance;
- a manly look and self-confidence will give a strong sex a male gold ring with Ural alexandrite in combination with branded expensive watches.
Gem price
Natural gem has a very high cost, which depends on its color, jewelry processing, the presence of defects. In products, as a rule, it is rarely used on its own - it is complemented by pearls, rubies, emeralds and diamonds. Alexandrite is in the top five in terms of price, along with such expensive minerals as sapphire, diamond, ruby and emerald.
The frame for gem products is most often made of gold, but silver is also used for this purpose.
Alexandrite can be purchased at a price of five hundred dollars (artificial), and natural Ural - from five thousand. The maximum value is twenty thousand dollars per carat.
Factors that determine the price are as follows:
- saturation of the mineral with color regardless of the time of day;
- presence of inclusions and turbidity.
Mid-tier buyers can buy synthetic stones that look completely different fromoriginal. In Russia, they produce an analogue of alexandrite, which has a lilac color, similar to amethyst.
How to recognize an analogue
A distinctive feature of nuggets is the change in color when the illumination changes, which is caused by the presence of three optical axes in the nugget. Interestingly, under fluorescent lamps, this effect is almost invisible.
The only mineral that looks like Ural alexandrite is green andalusite. But it's just as rare as the original.
More often, as a replacement for gems, synthetically grown analogues are used - spinel and corundum, similar to the original in chemical composition. You can distinguish them by their color - unlike the nugget, they shimmer from blue-gray to pink and are much more intense.
The main candidates to replace alexandrite are artificial chrysoberyl, phenakite, cubic zirconia, inamori, garnet, andalusite, spinel. When buying a piece of jewelry, you need to check if there is an act of gemological examination.
Despite all the instructions, it is quite difficult for an ordinary person, but rather impossible, to distinguish the original from the analogue on their own. The best option would be to contact a specialist jeweler - with the help of special instruments (spectroscope and refractometer), he will determine the origin of the mineral.
