Alexandrite Buying Guide
 

Color: When buying alexandrite, color change is the most important factor in depending the price and quality of the crystal. Although emerald green to ruby red is the preferred color change, such a gem has yet to be found. Quality alexandrite color change is normally from slightly bluish green to purplish red. Alexandrite that bleeds, or those displaying two colors at the same time, is less desirable as this is a common phenomenon. Dealers use a percentage system to judge the quality of the color change. 90-100% color change is the ideal and sough after, while 30% is usually overlooked and sometimes not even viewed as alexandrite. If there is a good presence of brown and gray in the two colors, the value of the gem is lowered dramatically. Note that lighting is very important, more light means better color change, as the same gem can look differently depending on the amount of light as buyers and sellers have known to use the lighting to tip the pricing scale to their favor.

 
Cut: Alexandrite is found on the market in wide variety of shapes and cutting styles. Ovals and cushions are the most common cut followed by round cut, but other shapes are found like any other gems.
 
Price: In terms of pricing, alexandrite is one of the world’s most expensive gems, with prices that are similar to ruby and emerald, $3,000 to $10,000 per carat. Clean stones in sizes above one carat are rare while stones above 2-3 carats are extremely rare. Good quality stone less than 0.5 carats can fletch for thousands of dollars per carat, while a stone over 3 carats can cost up to $100,000.
 
Clarity: As clarity goes, alexandrite follows ruby and other colored gem grades. Diamond grades are not used for colored gems. Most colored gems, including alexandrite, will contain a few inclusions even with the highest quality. Color gems are graded without magnification.
 
Source: Originally found in Russia, alexandrite is currently found in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Burma, Tanzania, Madagascar, India, and Brazil, with fine deposits of alexandrite can be found in Brazil and Tanzania. Generally, alexandrite from Russia itself fletches a slightly higher price due to its history with the gem, plus the region no longer produces alexandrite.
 
Imitations: Vast majority of synthetic alexandrites are synthetic color changing sapphires that were colored with vanadium that are worth a few dollars per carat. Most synthetic alexandrites are bluer under sunlight and strongly red under incandescent light, or indoors light compared to natural alexandrite. Large, clean and inexpensive alexandrite is usually a synthetic or not alexandrite at all; in fact, large alexandrite should be approached with caution. Certificate of Authenticity or Gem Identification report should be asked when buying alexandrite if possible since it’s a rare gem with many imitations.