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The breadth of gemstones on Gem Day is astonishing.  Every gemstone imaginable from milky Aqua to Amethyst to Garnet to Morganite and onward will be featured throughout the day.  We start the day with the spectacular and extremely limited Alexandrite TSV.  

Alexandrite is one of the rarest gemstones in the world.  Discovered originally in Russia around the birthdate of Czar Alexander II and named in his honor, it is known for its magical phenomena of color change.  Called the “Stone of Passion” Alexandrite is a cool green color under normal lighting but changes to a passionate purplish violet by candle light or incandescent lights.  Even though we have been able to feature Alexandrite in small quantities over the last three years, it took us over a year to accumulate the quality and quantity for this exceptional ring.

Over a year ago I posted a brief history of Alexandrite and I wanted to share that with you.

Did you know that Alexandrite was named after Czar Alexander II of Russia because it was discovered on his birthday in 1839 or that sapphires are believed to symbolize prosperity and be a charm against “unchastity”?

Alexandrite has always been one of those mysterious and unattainable stones to me. During my training at the Gemological Institute of America, I remember the discussions about how rare it was and almost impossible to find. The examples that were shown were viewed with awe and the color change was seen as almost magical. Today we are lucky enough to bring you true Alexandrite due to recent limited mine discoveries.

Alexandrite is part of the mineral species Chrysoberyl, but must exhibit color change to be called Alexandrite. Many times you will see Chrysoberyl in the market that has a color shift from green to dark green. This is not Alexandrite, it must actually exhibit color change from greenish to purplish. True Alexandrite is green in daylight or fluorescent light, and change to red or slightly purplish red in the incandescent light from a lamp or candle flame. It is often called the romantic or passionate stone because of the romance of candlelight.

Throughout the day, we will be featuring Vault Discoveries.  They are hard –to find, remarkable gemstones in limited availability from around the globe.

Over the last year I traveled to three of the world’s most important gemstone cutters and searched their gem vaults for unusual, exotic, or extraordinary gemstones.  I found small parcels of cut gems that had not been seen in many years.  We discovered small containers of rough gemstones that had been stored for almost 20 years.  The range is vast and incredible and each stone has a remarkable story.

I have been active in the gemstone world for 38 years and lucky enough to have been in gem mines around the world.  Never did I imagine that we would be able to offer a Paraiba Tourmaline ring (J155656) of a minimum of .70ct.  Mined in 2005, the mines are totally played out today.  These few stones were collected almost 10 years ago and will never be available again.

Two other mines that are no longer producing are Bo Rai and Bo Phloi in Thailand.  Bo Rai has been closed for over 20 years and used to product the finest rich true red rubies.  We were able to find enough in a safety deposit box in Chantaburi to produce this spectacular ring (J288768).  The Premier 1.20ct Kanchanaburi Sapphires were found in a vault in Bangkok and collected years ago.  This size and quality is virtually non-existent today. 

There are many other vault stories throughout the day but a quick call out to the 65ct Uruguayan Oval Amethyst (J289036), the finest and largest Rubellite ever offered on QVC, J155657, the 2.8ct  Premier Rubellite and diamond Ring, and the largest and finest color 5.5ct Teal Apatite and Diamond Ring (J156108).

WOW

Please call in during the day on Thursday, 1/2 and let me know what you think of these fabulous finds.

Take care,

Peyton