Mother nature's magic trick
Not only is Alexandrite June’s birthstone, it is also the Anniversary stone for the celebration of 55 years of marriage. That makes this brilliant gemstone a highly coveted gift for birthdays and those celebrating a 55th wedding anniversary.
Alexandrite is one of the rarest gemstones in the world, which also makes it one of the most expensive. Lucky for you, for the entire month of June, Rogers & Brooke Jewelers is offering 10% off alexandrite jewelry (some exclusions may apply see store for details).
History of the chameleon birthstone
June’s birthstone officially received the name Alexandrite in 1839, due to their changing colors being the same as Old Imperial Russia’s military colors. Alexandrite eventually became one of the most sought-after gemstones by the aristocrats of Russia. Russia soon mined nearly all of the alexandrite it had to offer before more deposits were discovered in the island south of India and what is now known as Sri Lanka.
Interestingly enough, America’s very own jewelry company Tiffany popularized alexandrite when the company’s master gem buyer, George Kunz, traveled to Russia and brought back enough alexandrite to head the market for years to come. Alexandrite was considered to be incredibly rare throughout most of the 1900s until further deposits were found on the border of Tanzania and Mozambique, as well as Brazil.
Mystical powers
Physical properties
The miners who saw the stone change color from green to red were not wrong- Alexandrite changes color when exposed to a richly red-rayed light source. This “metamorphosis” is known as Pleochroism. The more desirable stones are those who exhibit the most intense color changes. Brazilian Alexandrite is the most valuable, as it displays 100% color change.