Alexandrite
Tsarstone collectors guide
"Beauty, durability and rarity; such are the three cardinal virtues of a perfect gemstone. Stones lacking any of them cannot aspire to high place in the ranks of the precious stones." G.F. Herbert Smith (1872 - 1953)
On 17 April 1834, the Russian Empire was celebrating the sixteenth birthday of the future Tsar Alexander II, one of the most controversial characters in Russian history. At around the same time, a colour changing gemstone was found in the Urals's Izumrudnye Kopi (Emerald mines) on the Tokovaya River, 85 versts (96 kilometres) to the east of Ekaterinburg and the noble story of the most scarce and fascinating precious stone was born and irrevocably associated with Alexander II, through being named in his honour -- Alexandrite...
