My Alexandrite Collection

[LD]

I've been collecting for a number of years and have a particular love for anything that colour changes! Alexandrite is my favourite and I'm lucky enough to have stones from Russia (only 2!), India, Brazil and Tanzania - most are certified.

Here are a few that I've got photographs of. I struggle to photograph the daylight green colour and some of these photographs are several years old and would benefit from re-doing as my photographic skills have improved slightly over time! The photos below however are a good replica of the colour change. However, here's a taster ............

This is my pride a joy - a 3.06ct Alex with additional diamonds. The colour change on this baby is fantastic and I wear this ring on most days.

 

[LD]

Three rings with good colour change

 

[LD]

Another

 

[LD]

A 2ct oval with moderate colour change. The cut is not good on this stone, the culet is off centre and there''s a nasty inclusion but the daytime green is absolutely stunning.

 

[LD]

A 1ct loose stone I bought (certified). This is the seller''s picture and is an accurate representation of what I see. I bought this because you don''t often see this cut in an Alex. I''m still to have it set.

 

[LD]

This is a 3ct Alex. You can see that it has a nasty inclusion and the colour change is ok but not fantastic. I bought this for the size and (strangely) clarity because apart from the one inclusion the rest of the stone is beautifully clear.

 

[LD]

Bracelets

 

[LD]

This is a really pretty ring with a great colour change, helped greatly by the amount of silk in the Alex which gives it a smokey appearance.

 

[LD]

I love these earrings. There''s a total of 3ct here. They''re very very heavy and very very big! The daytime is a great colour green (can''t photograph these at all) but the colour change is weak unfortunately.

 

[LD]

This pendant was a real surprise! I opened the box and thought "why have I bought an Amethyst" and then realised I was seeing a gorgeous colour change! Doh!

 

[LD]

Last one! Thank you for looking.

Trying (and failing) to capture the daytime green colour! This was taken in strong sunlight last summer sometime but you can see, they don't want to show their glorious green colour!!!!

 

[T L]

LD,
Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous and museum worthy alex collection. What a treat to log on today and see these wonderful pictures.

Do you have a hand shot of the large pear?

 

[Honey228]

Yay!

You know that I''m a fan of that first ring especially, but wow that''s an impressive alex collection. I had no idea. Ugh, I thought that I had talked myself out of wanting an alexandrite, but this thread is dangerously tempting! Ha, your comment about your pendant made me giggle. I like it more than my birthstone amethyst, think I could sub it for an alex?

 

[Catmom]

Wowzers, what a fantastic collection, LD!!!

 

[Fly Girl]

Great collection , LD! Thanks for the pictures, so that we all can help you enjoy your beautiful Alex.

 

[cushioncutnut]

No wonder Alexandrites are so rare! I think you have scarfed most of them up!!

Just beautiful...and I adore the first one!! WOW!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Oh my! This is a beautiful collection

That first one is to die for - my target one day!

I hope I am not being too nosy but I was wondering where you get your Alexandrite from.

 

[mochi]

WOW!! You have a beautiful collection! It''s absolutely lovely..

 

[CharmyPoo]

Which are the two from Russia?

 

[RNgemlover]

You''re not wearing the pear! I love that one!

 

[LD]

TL - what a lovely thing to say thank you! Which pear do you want a handshot of? The first one with the diamond halo? The other large pear is actually on my hand in the multi ring shot.

Honey228 - go on, get one! You know you want to!!!

Cushioncutnut - you should see how many I''ve sent back if you think this is a lot!

Charmy - I buy them from a number of places. Some are better than others but the best, by far, have come from multicolour.com. You asked which are the Russian ones? If you look at the picture with a load on my hand the top one on my pinky is Russian and (ahem) I haven''t included a photo of the other one - just because I haven''t got a photo as I lost a load when my laptop was virused and hadn''t done a back up for ages. Some of these photos are old but were on the back up!!! I need to take some up to date photos but it takes forever to get good ones of Alex so I''ll wait until we have a very rainy Sunday!

Shaun - I wear it most days. The way I look at it is that gems are for wearing. It took me about 6 months to stop being nervous every time I wore it but now I don''t give it a second thought!

Catmom, Flygirl, Mochi - thank you all for your kind words. Having seen some of your gorgeous pieces I''m flattered that you like my collection.

 

[RNgemlover]

I want to see a hand shot of that first one.

 

[Diamond*Dana]

WOW! You have a gorgeous collection!! Thank you for sharing!!

 

[LD]

TL - Shaun

Your wish is my command ........... apologies, photos taken in haste tonight! It looks very purple in these photos but is slightly more red than these pictures suggest.

 

[LD]

From behind on the hand

 

[LD]

From the side when worn

 

[LD]

Last one!

Close up

 

[RNgemlover]

That is just gorgeous!!! What GORGEOUS color!

 

[diamondringlover]

OMG what stunning collection, that pear is to die for...amazing

 

[MonkeyPie]

GORGEOUS and amazing collection! I have always loved Alexandrite but could never afford one that had decent color change. My aunt has one that is at least 4 carats in a solitaire setting that is OLD, back before they started making created alex. It got me hooked!