Saturday, June 30, 2012

Saturday's Gem - Alexandrite

Since June is coming to a close today I picked June’s birthstone, Alexandrite, as our gem and mineral for today.  Alexandrite is classified as a Chrysoberyl from the orthorhombic system that has many different shapes naturally; it can be tabular, prismatic, massive, and granular.  Its unique characteristic is that in natural light it will look dark green but in artificial light it will look red.  The better quality color change the piece of Alexandrite has the higher the monetary value.  It is transparent to translucent and can be faceted to make beautiful jewelry pieces.  It is most often found in Sri Lanka, Russia, Zimbabwe, and Brazil.  Chrysoberyl itself has been found in Connecticut but it is most likely not the gem quality Alexandrite but something that is more yellow or brown

Metaphysically Alexandrite is very special since it has the ability to change colors in the lighting.  During the day and while in its green color it can attract happiness and good fortune and during the night, in its red color, it attracts loving and sensual affections.

Here are some great Etsy picks: