Featured Nice little Alexandrite surprise today

Went to the antique shop today to add some stuff to my space and found these 2 nice Alexandrite pieces in a booth there for $20 ea. I snagged them and have no regret’s

 

Regerts either. I'd have bagged those so fast....

 

I'm confused. Alexandrite is chrysoberyl, a naturally occurring gemstone. Those two treasures appear to be made of glass. How did the name of one become a name for the other? Does it have to do with color change based on differences in light, or?

 

@wlwhittier Yes, the glass is different colors in different lighting. Just like the Gem. Heisey called the color Alexandrite. Other makers called it by different names. But like the Gemstone......It can be expensive. Especially Older heisey pieces. Below is pictures of a Perfume Bottle I own showing the color change.

 

Alexandrite glass, properly termed neodymium glass. Aka color change glass. Anyone who's been around glass or costume jewelry, or both, would know the reference. Others might not.

 

@wlwhittier
Here is a link to an eBay auction for a Heisey Alexandrite Bowl. The pictures show the color change p pretty well.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/233937175495?hash=item3677be03c7:g:PXwAAOSwsPtgVoIG

 

Here is a picture of one of the pieces I bought today. One in incandescent light and one in fluorescent light.

 

The addition of rare earth metals to the glass recipe causes colour change under different light temperatures. Neodymium is one, others are also used. Alexandrite glass, as a term, is because the neodymium colour impact resembles the natural gemstone.

 

And they are so fun!

 

They are, up there with UV lights.

My A level Physics comes back to me....!

 

Let's face it, they're fun. I have this little neodymium Fire and Light star. When I walk into the room and it's a different color I almost gasp. Like it's alive!

Cheap thrills, but there you are.

Gorgeous bowls, Bdigger. A+ on the physics exam, Bear!

 

Our discussion caused me to recall a cut Alexandrite I had squirreled away...but where? Unusually, when I awoke the answer was clear!

Obviously a synthetic stone...but an almost forgotten bauble revealed, and so I share what little I know.

~20 carat, 17mm diameter at the girdle, 8.77mm deep. I haven't examined it microscopically (not that I'm smart enough to determine anything significant thereby) so cannot even say if it has inclusions, or if there are chips on any of the facets. I cannot say where I got it, nor at what cost.

The 1st pic is under LED light; the 2nd is spotlighted by small LED flashlight; the 3rd is an older incandescent flashlight.

Thanks for all the lessons about the glass version of this delightful color-changing effect.

 

Very Nice~ I was fortunate enough to obtain a few Natural alexandrites back in the 70's. Small stones but nice color change. One 3x3 trillion I had set for myself in a ring.....but alas it was stolen in a burgalry. I still have the others put away somewhere. I even have a natural Alexandrite cats eye. The color change isn't spectacular, but it is observable.

 

There are also multiple synthetics, and an art glass that's called alexandrite glass. It's technically neodymium glass, but most people use the other name.

 

A neodymium bird-shaped bowl I have:


And a Cristaux d'Art vase I used to have:

 

That's so cool. I had never seen this glass before, only the gemstone.