The Origins of Alexandrite Gemstone
Apples of Gold Jewelry
The origin of alexandrite is shrouded in somewhat of a mystery. Delivered up from the Ural Mountains near the Tokovaya River, it is popularly believed that alexandrite was discovered by the Finnish mineralogist Nils Gustaf Nordenskjöld on April17, 1834. This was the 16th birthday of the future Tsar Alexander II of Russia. Nordenskjöld is said to have named the new gem in the boy’s honor. However, a contrary story holds that some time before the date in question, Nordenskjöld was examining mineral samples that had been sent to him by Count Leo Aleksevich Petrovski, a Russian noble. At first, Nordenskjöld thought gem to be an emerald. Later in the day, under artificial light, he noted the color change and correctly recognized it as a new variety of chrysoberyl. He suggested that the new stone be called ‘diaphanite’ – from the Greek “to or two show through” – the root of our word ‘diaphanous’. Petrovski, imperially minded, patriotic Russian that he was, saw to it that the new gem would be brought to public light as alexandrite – for the recently come-of-age tsarevich. (Just as a side note, Alexander II came to the throne at the height of the Crimean War. Although sometimes cited as a relative liberal, Alexander was an autocrat to the core – destined to be assassinated in 1881.)
There is little doubt that no matter how alexandrite got its name, its colors had a hand in the decision, since green and red are the traditional colors of Imperial Russia.
Through the years, besides being used by Russian master jewelers, no less a gemologist than Tiffany’s George Fredrick Kunz was particularly taken by the beauty and form of alexandrite. He produced a number of masterpieces using alexandrite at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.
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