Gold earrings with alexandrite are an adornment for delicate connoisseurs of all graceful. This gem has unique properties and an interesting story related to its discovery. It is very rare in nature, but silver and gold jewelry with this stone can be easily found on sale.
Gem Features
The most striking feature of alexandrite is its ability to change color depending on the nature of the lighting. In daylight, alexandrites have an olive, bluish-green, emerald hue, and in evening light or artificial light - purple-red, raspberry or ruby color.
The gem was discovered in the Ural emerald mine in the 19th century and named after the heir to the Russian throne - the future emperor Alexander II.
The Ural alexandrite deposit remained the only one for a long time, all the others were discovered much later.
The gem was used in jewelry until the 19th century, in antiquity and the Middle Ages, however, it was mistaken for an emerald or amethyst.
Currently, this gem is not mined in Russia; work at the field was stopped in 1995. The main supplier is Sri Lanka, exporting alexandrite is also Madagascar, India, Tanzania. There are these gems in Zimbabwe and Zambia. The field, discovered in Brazil in the 1980s, has already been developed.
It is still believed that stones from other deposits cannot be compared in their ability to change color with Ural alexandrite.
Alexandrite is a gem. It can be inferior in value only to diamonds, emeralds, rubies and sapphires.
The best examples of a natural gem (with a pronounced color change from green to red) can be very expensive. Alexandrites, characterized by transparency and purity, are very rare.
Kinds
Synthetic Alexandrite
Scientists have tried to reproduce the unique properties and beauty of a natural gem. Their scientific searches were successful, and at the moment in the windows of jewelry stores we can see jewelry with synthetic alexandrites.
Synthetic alexandrites are trimmed with silver and gold.
If you decide to purchase gold earrings with alexandrites, then the option with synthetic stone will be the most affordable.
They have no defects, are exceptionally clean, the color change (the so-called color reverse) can be expressed even more strongly than with natural gems. Only a specialist can distinguish synthetic stone from natural stone if the necessary equipment and tools are available.
Conscientious sellers must indicate that it is synthetic stones that are used in jewelry in the same earrings.
Imitations
The gem is expensive and rare, so you can find many of its imitations, usually these are synthetic stones with the effect of a color change.
Sometimes synthetic corundums are called alexandrites, which tend to change color depending on the nature of the lighting, thanks to special inclusions of certain substances, that is, they have an alexandrite effect. Such corundums are an inexpensive imitation of alexandrite. The specialist will be able to understand that it is corundum, including the presence of a stone color that is not characteristic of alexandrite.
It is believed that most of the jewelry with "alexandrites", which are now worn or stored in caskets, actually has inserts made of synthetic corundum.
The Alexandrite effect may have individual specimens of natural minerals. There is alexandrite spinel and pomegranate, capable of changing color. Such stones are quite rare and expensive, especially large.
Synthetic alexandrite spinel can also be an imitation of alexandrite.
The andalusite mineral is able to change its color depending on the angle of incidence of light, it is also characterized by green and red shades.
Many imitations have little in common with both natural and synthetic alexandrite.
Models
From gold
Earrings with alexandrites in gold can have a different design. On sale you can see earrings with elegant pendants or retro jewelry, where the central stone has a round or oval shape and is surrounded by cubic zirconias. The gold rim for a large gem can be wide or thin, as well as openwork. Classic red or yellow gold highlights and emphasizes the beauty of the gem.
Laconic models of earrings are also widely represented, where alexandrite, often of fancy cut, is enclosed in a very simple frame, which is only a functional mount and does not distract attention from the stone itself. Such earrings are made with an English castle, they look very stylish.
This gem can be cut in various ways. The most common forms are:
- Oval.
- A circle.
- Square.
- A drop.
Gold models with natural alexandrites are most often made to order, such earrings can be additionally decorated with diamonds.
Silver
On sale you can see earrings with synthetic alexandrites in silver. Silver earrings are presented with a large number of options. These are earrings with pendants, and models with a large rounded stone in the frame. This gem rarely comes in combination with other types of stones, the exception is cubic zirconias, for models made of gold - the same cubic zirconias and diamonds. Small cubic zirconias frame the central stone and serve as a kind of background for it.
Earrings with large gems or with pendants are good for an evening out, with small inserts and a modest rim perfect for any other situations.
Magical properties
A number of omens are associated with this stone, and give it magical properties:
- Among people who believe in the power of stones, there is an opinion that you need to wear jewelry with these gems either in paired items, such as earrings, or in sets. The stone should not be the only one, it is necessary to pick up a pair for it, for example, in another jewelry. It is believed that wearing one alexandrite is to loneliness. A few items with alexandrites can help make family life a success.
- Some believe that alexandrites are able to warn their owner about various troubles that may threaten him. At the same time, the gem suddenly, not at the time of day, changes its color, turns red. Although there is an opinion that the gem is capable of reflecting a change in color or mood of the person who wears jewelry with this stone.
Who is it for?
When buying jewelry, many people think about whether stones in earrings can have any symbolic meaning. And most often, people endow precious and semiprecious stones with certain symbols.
Due to the ability to change color, alexandrite can be considered a symbol of fortune, which is also changeable. Accordingly, the gem is endowed with the property to attract good luck.
This gem is recommended to be worn by people emotional and impulsive in order to achieve calm and balance: the advice is probably based on the fact that the changeable color of the mineral is associated with a person’s temperament. Often a stone is declared a symbol of amorousness and jealousy, and it is also advised to wear it to people of creative professions engaged in intellectual work and spending a lot of time traveling.
Astrologers recommend wearing a natural gem to those people who are Scorpio or Gemini according to the horoscope. It is believed that it has a positive effect on Pisces and Lviv.
Synthetic stones are most often not associated with any zodiac sign, it is believed that they cannot be talismans, their function is purely aesthetic.
