About: Czochralski Alexandrite

Example of our “light-colored” Czochralski Alexandrite.

Many clients come to me having seen on social media a beautiful gemstone that is purple and flickers with a gorgeous teal/green hue. This is unmistakably Alexandrite.

Alexandrite commercially comes in two forms: Natural and Lab-grown. Natural Alexandrite is “emerald by day, ruby by night,” and is the very rare color-change variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. It is Mohs 8.5 with RI ~1.75.

Natural Alexandrite is extremely rare, and expensive. However, at The Pacific Lights, we always have in stock the chemically identical counterpart.

We currently carry Czochralski Alexandrite - which is essentially lab-grown Alexandrite and grown with the Czochralski method. Czochralski as a method of growing crystals usually has very consistent color saturation for its rough, and as such, Alexandrite tends to not have color zoning or patching - making for very nice even color gemstones.

We have two color types at The Pacific Lights - a light-saturation Alexandrite and a dark-saturation Alexandrite.
Both of these colors are of Czochralski method and beautiful but have very different moods if you want to call it that.

It is very difficult to depict Alexandrite truly with photos and cameras. I have seen certain cameras that can show its fantastic color display well but unfortunately, most camera phones and other devices tend to show the green as “blue”.

We do ask clients looking into this stone to view as many videos and light sources as possible before deciding to purchase this as a stone.

If you are particularly color-sensitive, Alexandrite may not be the best choice.

This material is best suited for individuals who like a range of purple primary colors with teal or green secondary colors (not the reverse. The stone is usually purple with teal FLASHES).

Below are some examples of our light-colored material in a variety of cuts and sizes. As you can see, despite our best efforts - the green hue of the flash of the material shows up as “blue” in photos and video.

Below are some examples of our dark-colored material in a variety of cuts and sizes.

While this is NOT a gemstone or ring we made at The Pacific Lights - this is a VERY good example of how the dark variation behaves.

*The absolute closest I have ever seen a photo display the color properties of Alexandrite is shown below. It was taken with professional Nikon camera - to which I sadly do not own - but as a somewhat close glimpse as to what the teal flicker looks like is shown below.

The teal flash of our darker Alexandrite, shown slightly more accurately via Nikon camera. Still not perfect. 

Another ring that was not cut or made by us - but in my opinion an exemplary example of how dark Alexandrite material behaves. Primarily purple with teal flashes.