Mystery behind the chatoyant gemstone

"Chatoyance" is French for cat's-eye. When impurity minerals occur in fibers, they give gemstones a silky appearance. When the fibers line up along one of the crystalline axes, a stone can be cut to display a bright reflective line—a special effect called cat's-eye.

Pictured cat's eye chrysoberyl is also known as cymophane. The name being derived from the Greek words cyma and phanes, meaning “wave” and “appearance.” Microscopic needle-like inclusions inside the stone reflect a streak of light known as the cat’s eye.

The cat's eye’s inclusions are aligned parallel to the crystallographic axis and they are always cut as cabochons with the fibrous need-like inclusions running across the narrow part of the stone as this is the only way to display the effect properly.

Alexandrite like phenomenal color change Garnet

Color change garnet is one of the most rare, interesting, and phenomenal of all gemstones. The color change can be intense and equal to the color change of top quality alexandrite and fine color change garnets can easily be mistaken for alexandrite. Some of the best stones are from the deposit in Bekily, Southern Madagascar. Stones from this mine are well known for their strong alexandrite like color change.

Change of color is not the same as the changes in color with crystal orientation that affects tourmaline and iolite, which are due to the optical property called pleochroism. Only rare tourmalines, garnets and alexandrite absorb certain wavelengths of light so strongly that in sunlight and indoor light they appear different colors.

Alexandrite, Spinel and Diamonds Triple Eternity Ring

This triple eternity ring was initially created in the Victorian period. The meticulous engineering enables the interchangeable style to display a multitude of colors in a variety of combinations.

White gold alexandrite ring features red spinels from Burma, alexandrites from Brazil, and VVS diamonds from Africa. It can be worn as a single, double, or triple band and is ideal for special occasions or everyday wear.

Treasures Of The Tsars

Not Jewels of the Romanovs, but new fine alexandrite jewelry collection at DavidWein.

Book Announcement: Russian Alexandrites

About The Book

In this book the author present an historical overview of emerald mining in the Urals, the discovery of Russian alexandrites in the Uralian emerald mines, the naming and historical use of alexandrites and their appearance and display in mineralogical museums and the gem trade. Morphology and twinning of rough alexandrite is described for single crystals, single contact twins and cyclic twins (trillings). Mineralogical and gemmological properties are thoroughly explained and numerous photo-micrographs of inclusions and growth patterns in faceted samples are presented.

Chatoyancy and asterism of alexandrite and chrysoberyl from Russia and Sri Lanka are also described. A further chapter deals with characteristic growth patterns of Russian, other natural and synthetic alexandrites. Colorimetric data of Russian alexandrites and green chrysoberyls are explained using the CIELAB colour space, and the distinction between these varieties is explained. A chapter on trace element chemistry and locality determination rounds off the book.

Book is illustrated with more than 200 colour figures and photographs, addresses mineralogists, gemmologists, historians, mineral and gem collectors as well as all members of the gem trade. An extensive appendix containing lists of historical names, a time table and numerous references provides valuable information on Russian alexandrites for all researchers in the mineralogical and gemmological fields as well as for gemmological laboratories, jewellers and gem dealers.


About the Author

Dr. Schmetzer is an independent gemmology researcher and consultant based in Petershausen, Germany, near Munich. He specializes in the mineralogy of gemstones, characterization of natural and synthetic gem materials, description of new gemstones and new gem localities, causes of colour and colour changes produced through treatment, and differentiation of natural gemstones from their synthetic counterparts.
As prolific author, Dr. Schmetzer has produced nearly 400 papers and articles, mostly in English and German, which have been published in the major gemmological journals, including Gems & Gemology, Journal of Gemmology, Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie Monatshefte.
He is a member of the editorial board of the American, Australina, and French gemmological journals. He has been invited to lecture at special gemmological conferences in the United States, China, Brazil, Austria and Switzerland, and he is the German delegate to the International Gemmological Conference.

For more information, please visit Book Announcement: Russian Alexandrites by Karl Schmetzer

Hunting for Alexandrite Romance

I am so excited! I finally made the decision on which ring to get for my engagement. Being a slightly indecisive person – there is a lot of choice out there after all! And you have to remember (in theory) that this ring will be on your hand for the rest of your life. The decision on which ring is a pretty important one to get right. I really wanted an Alexandrite on my hand, as I love this stone, the colours of it and the history behind the stone.

Trawling throughout many Google searches I came across Khazar Gems which have some very good designs, although calling a ring ‘Product ID: n907’ doesn’t inspire romance to me, so I carried on my quest.

I found an Alexandrite site which has so much information about the stone and excellent stories behind Alexandrite’s origin, a must read if you are a fan of Alexandrite. From this site I came across David Wein on one of my search expeditions. Now here they let your imagination run riot with calling each ring something – like Anastasia or Siberia on My Mind, which conjures up all kinds of magic and romance to me.


Wow! I found the one for me ‘Alexander’s Choice’ I love it, I wanted a slightly darker colour green, so I contacted the website owner to see if could choose a darker colour to go into that design. The service centre was brilliant, incredibly helpful and sent me to their sister site which sells loose gemstones, so I could choose the exact stone I wanted.



The hunt was over, I’m ecstatic, I want it as quick as possible. All I needed now was my future husband to be to hand over his credit card – luckily it wasn't a problem as he loves it too (not that he had much choice to argue with me (ha ha).

All ordered and paid for, I waited in anticipation and counted down the days, which wasn’t long, as I choose my own alexandrite stone it took one week to arrive. Now that to me is pretty good service for an impatient person like me who wants thing immediately!

The parcel arrived and I had to promise my husband to be, to wait and not open it until the evening when he had a surprise evening planned for me. I was like a kid in a candy store and had memories of Christmas presents under the tree and trying to peel off the sellotape to get a peek at what was inside. I tell you, it was very hard for me not to rip open the envelope.






It was definitely worth the wait, what an evening to remember forever. I choose the right partner to marry, and I definitely choose the right alexandrite engagement ring. It fitted perfectly on my finger and the quality of workmanship was superb. To add to the surprise a pen light was in the box so you can see the colour change of the alexandrite stone. Amazing.





If your curious what my evening of romance was….. wait for the next installment when I’ll tell you what happened in detail and the magic that happened after the ring was put on my finger.
( Re-printed with permission from ring owner )

Alexandrite.net Wins Top Honours with IMA's Best in Class Award

Multicolour Gems, a leading online retailer of loose coloured gemstones, diamonds and natural pearls announces receipt of the prestigious "Best in Class" Interactive Media Award in the "Reference" category for the Alexandrite Gemstone Encyclopedia, an online guide and community dedicated to the promotion of alexandrite gemstones and jewellery.

Developed by NetComposite Ltd, a London based new media agency, and sponsored by Multicolour.com and natural alexandrite jewellery designer Davidwein.com, the Alexandrite Gemstone Encyclopedia sets the new standard for a niche reference subject with the publication of the most comprehensive reference about alexandrite and includes never before published facts about alexandrite’s discovery and history. Its catalogue of natural alexandrite gemstones and identification reports has attracted attention from collectors, researches, jewellery designers, appraisers, and gemologists from around the world.

Written by a panel of experts, and designed with the latest technology, the Alexandrite Gemstone Encyclopedia also features an innovative "Grade Score" along with snapshot reports to help visitors understand value of the chrysoberyl gem varieties.

"While the current economic recession has affected commercial jewellery and gemstone sales, some savvy investors have turned to rare collector stones or fine custom made pieces of jewellery to invest their money. Although many prospective buyers rarely know that alexandrite is among the rarest and most expensive of gems, sales of the best stones remain as strong as ever. The Alexandrite Gemstone Encyclopedia was designed and written for people looking for reliable and accurate information about alexandrite whether they are trying to purchase a stone, or just trying to improve their knowledge and understanding of the world of alexandrite", - said David Weinberg, Director and Senior Gemologist at Multicolour Gems Ltd.

There is only one Best in Class award winner in the Reference category, and it represents the very best in content, planning, execution and overall professionalism. All of the judges for the IMA’s are distinguished professionals and evaluate web sites based on five criteria: design, content, feature functionality, usability and standards compliance. The Alexandrite Gemstone Encyclopedia excelled in all areas of the international competition's judging criteria, earning an overall score of 488 out of 500.