Do people buy non ideal alexandrite?

[Niel]

I was looking at multicolour at their alexandrite selection. of course the strong color change stones are very expensive. But the ones with moderate color change, or not very saturated colors seem very inexpensive. I know they are not the trade ideal, but do people buy them?do any of you buy them? Are they really that undesirable? as looking at this one, but of these colors seem very beautiful and if say the blue side was JUST a chrysoberyl, it would be very desirable, and I would think if it was JUST the pink side(and a sapphire) would be desirable as well. Is it that they usually don't look like that but a mixture of the two? or is it just that they aren't deeper so people aren't interested? Just curious.

 

[chrono]

Niel,
There is no one answer to your question as to why a person buys a particular stone. It could be that they really like that colour, budget constraints, just want something called an alexandrite, and others. Alexandrite with moderate change or unsaturated colours tend to look muddy in person, where the colour is sort of neither here nor there. Often times, they are very strongly gray in the green and red colourway with muddiness in mixed lighting. To add to that, from personal experience, MC's pictures show more saturation than the stone in hand.

There is no chrysoberyl that shows a blue green like that. Even a vanadium chrysoberyl tends to be lighter and greener, and vanadium chrysoberyl is not inexpensive.

Most other gemstones do green and red far better than alexandrite easily. Even a "lowly" tourmaline and garnet does better green and red than most alexandrites and costs less too. If you've ever seen and handled top quality alexandrite, they are very beautiful but the price tag is enough to make you walk away. That said, even the very top alexandrite is not emerald green and ruby red. There are plenty of lower quality alexandrite in the market and I'd rather get 2 separate stones than one that changes. For the same price, I'd rather a good tsavorite and spinel. As mentioned above, some people just like the novelty of a colour changer, coupled with the romance of the alexandrite name.

 

[Niel]

I agree valadium chryso doesn't look like that. Ii was just saying its even bluer.

So is it just that the ones that change from light green to peach are ugly in hand? I've never seen that kind in person, do they not look like that IRL? I know alexandrite photos can lie a lot

 

[chrono]

So is it just that the ones that change from light green to peach are ugly in hand? I've never seen that kind in person, do they not look like that IRL? I know alexandrite photos can lie a lot

Ugly or beautiful is in the eye of the beholder.

 

[Niel]

So is it just that the ones that change from light green to peach are ugly in hand? I've never seen that kind in person, do they not look like that IRL? I know alexandrite photos can lie a lot

Ugly or beautiful is in the eye of the beholder.

OK. I'll rephrase. Do they not look like that in hand? Do the colors just always muddle to a green brown?

 

[chrono]

It depends on the saturation of hue and strength of change.
The less the saturation, the grayer the green is and the browner the red is.
The less strong the colour change, the more muddy it looks (mish-mash of colours).

 

[minousbijoux]

Buying color change stones at all is not for the faint of heart. For me, I want a dramatic cc. I want to see two colorways that I really like (not just a gorgeous teal, say but a muddy brown red). And I want excellent saturation. But that is me. Other people might not mind if it only changes slightly. Or they might not mind if one of the colors it shifts to is not a color they love. A while ago, someone came looking for an alex, and they wanted it large so they were willing to sacrifice and if I recall correctly, they ended up getting one with a strong cc, but not the typically loved colorways - but that didn't matter because they did love them. The price was excellent IMO for the large size of the stone, and I am sure on a long term basis, they did quite well for themselves as the prices just keep going up.

What you say is true about a sapphire that color and a vanadium chyrso that color would both be sought after, but the change in the stones is often not so dramatic as to yield such colors. HTH.

 

[minousbijoux]

And no, the colors do NOT always muddy to a green brown. But the trick is to find colors far enough away on the color wheel so as to demonstrate a dramatic contrast when they do shift. You'd be surprised what some people call cc stones.

 

[the_mother_thing]

My Alex has "not as collector - desirable" color change and colorway, and it has a window, but those factors weren't as important to me in my purchase. I loved THESE colors, and especially the teal blue-green color it displays in most light settings. I drooled over that stone for quite awhile before I learned my s/o was buying it for me. I didn't want it, though, because others said it was THE stone, the best stone, was an excellent investment/resale, or was what they would buy. It's what I wanted, what I loved, and what I wanted to look at every day I wear it, and it has sentimental value to me ... even after factoring those items into the equation. That's how I knew it was the stone for me. We could have bought others, but I don't like the darker blue/red ones as much ... I know, I have oddball taste. LOL

I would also say though that in my case, I find my Alex to be MORE saturated in color in person that the MC photos showed. It has a rich teal/emerald green color in person, and the picture showed it to be much lighter, IMO. I haven't even tried to capture the color change in pictures yet.

Man, I can't wait to get that baby back from the jeweler in its setting!

 

[minousbijoux]

JoCoJenn: it was your stone and you that I was talking about! You bought that stone for all the right reasons, and in my opinion, for what it is you bought at a good price. I am sure that in the next few years you will be surprised by how it continues to increase in value.

 

[the_mother_thing]

JoCoJenn: it was your stone and you that I was talking about! You bought that stone for all the right reasons, and in my opinion, for what it is you bought at a good price. I am sure that in the next few years you will be surprised by how it continues to increase in value.

thanks! If it does increase in value, I won't be upset (and will be sure to have it reappraised in a few years so I am covered for insurance purposes). I am a bit of an odd bird though, in that I tend to like things others would probably pass on. But the upside for me is that I tend to get fabulous deals that way , but I don't buy jewelry for investment/collection ... I buy it to wear & love it. If I was overly worried about damaging a $15k+ stone, I would never wear it, and for me, that would bum me out. But no offense to those who do have the higher valued stones. They are certainly beautiful and I love seeing them all, as well as the uniqueness compared to the usual diamonds.

 

[minousbijoux]

JoCoJenn: it was your stone and you that I was talking about! You bought that stone for all the right reasons, and in my opinion, for what it is you bought at a good price. I am sure that in the next few years you will be surprised by how it continues to increase in value.

thanks! If it does increase in value, I won't be upset (and will be sure to have it reappraised in a few years so I am covered for insurance purposes). I am a bit of an odd bird though, in that I tend to like things others would probably pass on. But the upside for me is that I tend to get fabulous deals that way , but I don't buy jewelry for investment/collection ... I buy it to wear & love it. If I was overly worried about damaging a $15k+ stone, I would never wear it, and for me, that would bum me out. But no offense to those who do have the higher valued stones. They are certainly beautiful and I love seeing them all, as well as the uniqueness compared to the usual diamonds.

This should be printed banner style, bolded, underlined and in 100 font, at the top of the CS page. Well said!

 

[chrono]

JCJ,
I agree with your post; people buy different coloured gems because they love it. There is a colour for everyone out there; some like them vivid, some like them gray and some like them in-between.