Alexandrite Comparison - Natural vs. Chatham Lab-Grown

It was 1830 when the first alexandrite deposits were discovered in Russia's Ural Mountains. Found to be of fine quality and vivid in hues of red and green, mirroring that of the national military uniform of imperial Russia, the mineral was a huge hit. In fact, the gem's namesake is young Alexander II, heir apparent to the throne at the time.

Quantities of these beauties were limited, and as such, ran out eventually. Most alexandrite minerals now come from Sri Lanka, East Africa, and Brazil, but the quality standard for this gemstone remains as it was first found long ago, in 1830.

Adapting to varying light sources/conditions, alexandrite exhibits chameleon-like qualities with a lustrous green in daylight or fluorescent light and an earthy brown to purplish red with incandescent light (from a lamp) or by candle flame...

Click here to read more and to see if you can spot the visual differences between natural and lab-grown alexandrite!