What is Alexandrite?
What exactly is Alexandrite? The definition of an Alexandrite is as follows:
The word Alexandrite is named after the Russian Czar Alexander II because it was was discovered in the Ural Mountains of Russia on the Czar Alexander II birthday in 1831. This mineral stone is a green variety of chrysoberyl and used as a gemstone. Chrysoberyl is a mineral, found in crystals, of a yellow to green or brown color and consisting of aluminia and glucina. It is very hard and is often used as a gem.
The Colors of Alexandrite
Alexandrite come in a wide range of natural colors and shades including green, yellow; brownish, reddish and rarely, blue. Color is mainly caused by the gemstone's selective absorption of certain wavelengths of light called the body color. In gemstones, color consists of three components:
- Hue - the first impression of the color
- Tone - the lightness or darkness of color ranging from light to medium to dark
- Saturation - the intensity of a gemstone's color which is measured from dull to strong to vivid
