ALEXANDRITE

Alexandrite is one of the jewels that can be used as a birthstone for June, the others being pearl and moonstone. Alexandrite is a form of chrysoberyl, which forms in the earth’s crust due to the action of magma. It’s unique in that, unlike other chrysoberyls, Alexandrite contains not only impurities of iron and titanium, but chromium, which is crucial to its value. Pure chrysoberyl is clear and colorless or very pale yellow.

Alexandrite has a hardness on the Mohs scale of 8.5, which means it’s the hardest gemstone behind diamond and corundums like ruby and sapphire.

Alexandrite, besides having a recent history  is also quite rare. Its two components, beryllium and chromium, don’t usually occur together in nature.

One amazing thing about Alexandrite is that it changes color. The gem is green or green blue in natural daylight and then turns a dazzling red-violet or purplish red when placed under artificial light. It can do this because of chromium. Chromium absorbs yellow light with great efficiency. Only chrysoberyls that can change their color this way can be called Alexandrite. Unlike some other gems that seem to change color, the change in Alexandrite’s color isn’t dependent on the angle at which the stone is viewed.

June birthstone — Alexandrite is considered by astrologers to be a stone of good luck and is supposed to sharpen the intuition and creativity of its wearer