26.04ct. Alexandrite

[norman_in_L.A.]

Recently a client brought in an Alexandrite & Diamond Ring for an insurance appraisal. This Alexandrite is so unique that we sent it to GIA to get a Lab Report. It is 26.04ct.

 

[JSRNM]

What an amazing ring!! thanks for sharing.

 

[RockHugger]

WOW! I wonder if its real!!! Let us know how that follows through! The largest natural one I have is .4ct, and it hardly changes colors. Very neat.

 

[norman_in_L.A.]

We got the Alexandrite back a few days ago with the GIA Lab Report. We issued the appraisal today. The color change is really unique!

 

[RockHugger]

And its actual alexandrite not synthetic?!?! Holy cow!

 

[norman_in_L.A.]

Oh yes, its a natural Alexandrite!

 

[chris Hart]

very nice

 

[LD]

Goodness me! What an Alex!!!

May I ask if the origin has been identified? The colour (not that you can really tell anything about an Alex from photos!) is reminescent of the stones that came out of Tanzania.

 

[norman_in_L.A.]

The client was not interested in having the Alex tested for origin. They were however looking for a specific color combination to fit into their collection.

 

[Arcadian]

WOW!

-A

 

[T L]

Huge, what is the color change, brown to mauve? It''s difficult to tell by the pictures.

 

[norman_in_L.A.]

GIA color code''d it as: Brownish Greenish Yellow, to Reddish Brown.

 

[LD]

Date: 11/12/2009 7:51:56 PM
Author: norman_in_L.A.
The client was not interested in having the Alex tested for origin. They were however looking for a specific color combination to fit into their collection.

I''m astonished!

 

[norman_in_L.A.]

I know!

 

[AustenNut]

Dang, that''s amazing. Can you tell us what a ballpark figure is for something like that, or is that against the rules?

 

[morecarats]

Norman, that''s a very impressive piece. Assuming your client gave you permission to post photos of the ring, could you also tell what you appraised this at?

I imagine that origin is quite important in appraisal. Could you tell us how the lack of information on origin affected your appraisal? How different would the value be if it were certified as Russian alexandrite?

 

[marcy]

Wow! Cool color change and what a huge stone.

 

[norman_in_L.A.]

We have permission to post the photograph, but not the appraised value. Sometimes just getting permission to publish the photograph is difficult.

As far as information on the origin of the Alex, it reminds us of stones that we have seen from Sri Lanka. In the past we have seen origin Reports from GIA for this type of stone and they were somewhat vague. We could have sent it
to The Gübelin Lab, in Switzerland but the client was not interested in doing so. The color combination for this Alex is not consistent with the type of material that comes from Russia. A Russian Alex of this size would have a pedigree, & would demand a premium. Alex''s from other areas have not yet created such a demand.

 

[Stone Hunter]

Thank you for sharing this stone and information. Very neat!