Alexandrite

Alexandrite is the birthstone for the month of June. The basic symbolism of Alexandrite meaning is balance. It creates immense balance in emotions of the wearer as well as balance of all the physical aspects to ensure that there is no sickness. The stone is an ideal gift to couples celebrating their 45th and 55th anniversary. This stone is not known particularly for any powers of bringing couples closer or encouraging fidelity but Alexandrite meaning does guarantee happiness in one's life. The stone is a good luck charm to all those who luck does not exactly favor.

Alexandrites are among the rarest, most spectacular and expensive gemstones in the world.  The earliest important source of them was the Ural Mountains of Russia.  The gem became a favorite of the Russian royal family and was named after the Russian Czar, Alexander II.  This gem is special mostly because of the enchanting way in which the color changes dramatically according to the light it is in.  Alexandrite is a form of chrysoberyl and in addition to the Ural Mountains, quality alexandrites are found in Brazil, and sometimes Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Tanzania and India.

Compared to rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and diamonds, Alexandrite is a relatively new gemstone that was only discovered some 150 years ago. Despite its short history, this remarkable gem has already been ascribed with a variety of magical and mystical properties.

Perhaps the first person to attribute Alexandrite with magical powers was the Russian writer Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov (1831-1895) who wrote a short novel, "Alexandrite, Mysterious Interpretation of a True Fact", in which the gem plays a major role and is defined as a prophetic stone. At nearly the same time, Eliphas Levi, a French author and magician (1810 -1875), connected the duality of the colors in alexandrite with the duality of human blood -- venous and arterial. In his book, La Clef des Grandes Mysteres (The Key to the Great Mysteries), he refers to alexandrite as "the favorite charm of our time which clears and strengthens the blood vessels".

There is a popular Russian folklore regarding the discovery and etymology of the alexandrite stone. According to the Russian legend, the alexandrite stone was mined on the 16th birthday of the then Czar of Russia, Alexander II in the year 1834. This gemstone was given its name by a Finnish geologist, Nile Gustav Nordenskjoid, who stumbled upon this gemstone and mistook it for an Emerald.  For a second opinion, he sent it to a fellow geologist, who confirmed that taking qualities like hardness and color changing properties into consideration, this stone was harder than emeralds. The hardness of a gemstone is measured on the Mohs scale. Alexandrite stone can be rated at 8.5 whereas the measurement of the emerald comes to about 7.5 to 8. There are many controversies surrounding the etymology of the stone. Another myth has it that this stone was introduced to the Russian royalty by Count Lev Alekseevich Perovskii.

 Alexandrite comes in various shades of green but appears to be a dark stone in artificial light. It is an expensive stone but is well known for its beneficial effects. It can bestow on the wearer a lot of good luck, financial prosperity and magical powers. It is good for those wanting to do research, e.g. scientists, mathematicians, atomic scientists, explorers.

Alexandrite protects the wearer from sudden and unexpected changes and protects him in distant unknown lands. The wearer will also be protected from following useless pursuits and his utilized. It should not be worn by those, who cannot hold on to their own judgments and are easily swayed by the influence of others or those who are afraid to defy social conventions for fear of criticism. It urges the wearer to be bold, adventurous or to take bold or daring decisions.

The Alexandrite variety of chrysoberyl displays a color change (alexandrite effect) dependent upon the nature of ambient lighting. This color shift is independent of any change of hue with viewing direction through the crystal that would arise from pleochroism. Both these different properties are frequently referred to as "color change", however. Alexandrite results from small scale replacement of aluminum by chromium ions in the crystal structure, which causes intense absorption of light over a narrow range of wavelengths in the yellow region of the spectrum. Alexandrite from the Ural Mountains in Russia is green by daylight and red by incandescent light. Other varieties of alexandrite may be yellowish or pink in daylight and a columbine or raspberry red by incandescent light.

Alexandrite up to 5 carats (1,000 mg) and larger were traditionally thought to be found only in the Ural Mountains. Other deposits are located in India (Andhra Pradesh), Madagascar, and Sri Lanka. Alexandrite in sizes over 3 carats are very rare. According to a popular but controversial story, alexandrite was discovered by the Finnish mineralogist Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld, 1792–1866) and named alexandrite in honor of the future Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Nordenskiöld's initial discovery occurred as a result of an examination of a newly found mineral sample he had received from Perovskii, which he identified as emerald at first. The first emerald mine had been opened in 1831.

Some gemstones described as lab-grown (synthetic) alexandrite are actually corundum laced with trace elements (e.g., vanadium) or color-change spinel and are not actually chrysoberyl. As a result, they would be more accurately described as simulated alexandrite rather than synthetic but are often called Czochralski alexandrite after the process that grows the crystals.