Czarite/ zultanite

[Anita38]

I heard someone say that Czarite/ Zultanite/ Turkizite will be the next Russian Alexandrite. I cannot see the appeal of the stone, however. How about you?

 

[Rfisher]

The ‘someone’ that you heard say it-

Are they selling it and this is the hopeful catchy hook?

Do they own it and comparing the location of their diaspore vs other locales as similar to how Russian alexandrite is compared to other locales?


The latter?
I can see its place in mineral / gem collections. Varieties, locales, curiosities.

The former?
Do I think ‘it’s the next big thing’ or the value will dramatically increase/it’s an investment angle? No.

Edited to add:
I own AQUAPRASE(tm) ……
so am not immune to the pull

 

[Starstruck8]

Agree with @Rfisher.

It has hardness 6.5-7 and is very brittle with a plane of perfect cleavage. So it's tricky to set (I had one that fractured in setting) and requires care in wearing. By contrast, alexandrite (chrysoberyl), with hardness 8.5, is very wearable.

It has a pretty subtle brown-y yellowy red to yellowy green colour shift. In no way is it in the class of a good green to purple-red alexandrite.

Then there's the age of the legend. Alexandrite had the good fortune to be discovered in the nineteenth century in Tzarist Russia. The legends, and with them the 'legendary' prices, grew from there. The marketing names zultanite and czarite for Turkish diaspore are just that, marketing names. No sultan or Tzar had even heard of it.

It's a cool stone for collectors. But it will never be the next alexandrite.

 

[Autumn in New England]

Edited to add:
I own AQUAPRASE(tm) ……
so am not immune to the pull

At least it is actually a gemstone! My younger self once bought rainbow calsilica!!

 

[T L]

It’s not my cup of tea, but I could say the same for 99% of the alexandrite I see. I love a good color changing stone, but often it’s just a color change to a muddier looking color.

 

[Autumn in New England]

It’s not my cup of tea, but I could say the same for 99% of the alexandrite I see. I love a good color changing stone, but often it’s just a color change to a muddier looking color.

Color change phenomena is certainly cool... but I'd rather just have a really fine emerald and a really fine ruby than a murky greenish stone which changes into a murky reddish one.

 

[LilAlex]

My younger self once bought rainbow calsilica!!

And my older (current) self recently admired that on some rando's IG post

 

[Bron357]

They hoped it would be the “new Alexandrite” but it’s not that rare and just doesn’t have the same mystic as Russian Alexandrite which is no longer mined, rare and very much desired.
It is also being created in labs which makes identifying real from lab almost impossible without the time and expensive of a lab report.
The colour change is interesting but there are other colour change gems ie Garnet and sapphire that compete for the appeal.

 

[Autumn in New England]

And my older (current) self recently admired that on some rando's IG post

But... but... the guy dressed like Indiana Jones on HSN said he got it straight from the mine in Mehico!