Hobbies And Interests
History
The stone was first discovered on the czar's birthday in 1834 at an emerald mine in the Ural Mountains of Russia. It was later named the official gemstone of Tsarist Imperial Russia. Alexandrite is now most commonly mined in Sri Lanka and India.
Physical Properties
A member of the chrysoberyl family, alexandrite itself is the third hardest mineral in the world behind diamonds and corundum. The stone changes color depending on the lighting, and appears green or bluish-green in natural light and red or purple-red under incandescent light. To achieve the same color in an alexandrite doublet, a dye is added between its layers or a stone with similar color properties is used as its base.
Making Doublets
To create a doublet, a thin layer of natural or synthetic alexandrite is glued to some other natural or artificial stone, giving it the appearance of a single gemstone. Such doublets are reasonably common and fairly inexpensive.
Other Names
Doublets are occasionally referred to as crown alexandrites or alexandrite composites.