Alexandrite

Hidden for millennium deep within the earth's crust, Alexandrite first came
to light in the XIX century. Discovered by an unnamed farmer in the outposts
of the Urals, a single glowing green crystal was found under the roots of a
stunted tree. This crystal was thought to be an emerald queen of the
empire's jewels. Other glowing crystals were discovered in the same region
and hidden in the Empress Ekaterina's jewel vaults. Unknown to her, a lowly
caretaker of the royal vaults sold these glowing crystals at a high price to
a visiting German Prince who had them cut and set into magnificent settings
for his wife, the Princess. The Princess bejeweled herself with her
Alexandrite ring, Alexandrite earrings, natural Alexandrite white gold,
yellow gold, platinum; many an Alexandrite gemstone in glorious settings.

The alexandrite variety displays a color change (alexandrite effect)
dependent upon light, along with strong pleochroism. Alexandrite results
from small scale replacement of aluminium by chromium oxide, which is
responsible for alexandrite's characteristic green to red color change.
Alexandrite from the Ural Mountains in Russia is green by daylight and red
by incandescent light. Other varieties of alexandrite may be yellowish or
pink in daylight and a columbine or raspberry red by incandescent light. The
optimum or "ideal" color change would be fine emerald green to fine purplish
red, but this is exceedingly rare. Because of their rarity and the color
change capability, "ideal" alexandrite gems are some of the most expensive
in the world.

Varieties - Various shades of green and yellow; brownish, reddish.

Sources - Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Russia, Brazil, Zimbabwe - Rhodesia, Burma.

History - Alexandrite received its name because it was discovered on the
birthday of Czar Alexander II of Russia in 1830. Red and green are also the
colors of the Russian Imperial Guard.

Alexandrite was first discovered in 1831 in an emerald mining region of the
Ural Mountains in Russia. The name comes from Tsar Alexander II of Russia,
on whose birthday the gem was discovered in that country. It was named
"alexandrite" in his honor by the mineralogist Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. It
is an interesting coincidence that the Russian national colors are green and
red, which may have originated from this gem.
The finest alexandrites were found in the Ural Mountains, the largest cut
stones being in the 30 carat (6 g) range, though many fine examples have
been discovered in Sri Lanka (up to 65 cts.), India (Andhra Pradesh),
Brazil, Myanmar, and especially Zimbabwe (small stones usually under 1 carat
(200 mg) but with intense color change). Overall, stones from any locale
over 5 carats (1 g) would be considered extremely rare, especially gems with
fine color change. Alexandrite is both hard and tough, making it very well
suited to wear in jewelry.

Coveted for their beautiful and mysterious optical effects, when you look at
a Cat's Eye Alexandrite you can see a single band of light on its surface.
Technically known as the "Asteric Effect", this intriguing phenomenon is
unique to the world of gemstones. It is caused by minerals reflecting a band
of light back to the eye like a mirror. Cat's Eye Alexandrite makes
particularly stunning signet rings and are a powerful display of a unique
sense of style.

Russia has remained the primary source of alexandrite since gems from the
mines of the Urals became available on the market. When the Russian deposits
were thought to have been exhausted, interest in the unique colour miracle
decreased - especially since alexandrites from other mines hardly ever
displayed the coveted color change - . But the situation changed
dramatically in 1987, when alexandrites were discovered in a place called
Hematita in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The Brazilian alexandrites showed both a
distinctive colour change and good clarity and color. Thus the somewhat
dulled image of the miraculous stone received another boost. The color of
the Brazilian stones is admittedly not as strong a green as that of Russian
alexandrite, but the color change is clearly discernible.

Today Hematita is one of the most important deposits of alexandrite in
economic terms. Occasionally alexandrite with chatoyancy is discovered
there, an effect which has not yet been observed in Russian alexandrite.
Alexandrites are also recovered from sources in Sri Lanka, but the hue of
these stones compares less than favourably with that of the Uralian
alexandrites. They appear green in daylight and a brownish red in artificial
light. The Tunduru area in southern Tanzania has also produced some
outstanding specimens since the mid-1990's. Alexandrites are also found in
India, Burma, Madagascar and Zimbabwe. Although this stone is still
considered a rarity, specialised gemstone dealers do stock it, especially
since improved trade relationships between Russia and the rest of the world
have ensured a better supply of Russian alexandrites to the market.

With its good hardness of 81/2, alexandrite is an uncomplicated stone to
wear. The more distinct the change of colour, the more valuable the stone. A
fine alexandrite should show a vivid bluish-green in daylight and a
purplish-red in artificial light, without any trace of undesirable brown or
grey. If the origin of the stone is known beyond dispute to be Russia, we
are talking about a real rarity of enormous value. Finely faceted
alexandrites above one carat are thus among the most expensive gemstones in
the world, rarer than fine ruby, sapphire or emerald.

Alexandrite is a stone for experts, enthusiasts and connoisseurs, a true
understatement stone. Its uniqueness and high value are not evident at first
sight. The mysterious color change will only occur on exposure to different
light sources. But if you really get involved in alexandrite, you will be
utterly fascinated by this gem. Maybe you will also feel some of the
mysterious magic and lore ascribed to it. It is considered a stone of very
good omen. In critical situations it is supposed to strengthen the wearer's
intuition, and thus help him or her find new ways forward in situations
where logic will not provide an answer. Alexandrite is also reputed to aid
creativity and inspire imagination.

Spinel

Spinel is a very attractive and historically important gemstone mineral. Its
typical red color, although pinker, rivals the color of ruby. In fact, many
rubies, of notable fame belonging to crown jewel collections, were found to
actually be spinels. Perhaps the greatest mistake is the Black Prince's Ruby
set in the British Imperial State Crown. Whether these mistakes were
accidents or clever substitutions of precious rubies for the less valuable
spinels by risk taking jewelers, history is unclear. The misidentification
is meaningless in terms of the value of these gems for even spinel carries a
considerable amount of worth and these stones are priceless based on their
history, let alone their carat weight and pedigree.

Today, expensive rubies are still substituted for by spinel in much the same
way a diamond is substituted by cubic zirconia. Not to commit a fraud or
theft but to prevent one. Spinel may take the place of a ruby that would
have been displayed in public by an owner who is insecure about the rubies
safety. The spinel probably is still valuable but better to lose a $100,000
dollar spinel than a $1 million dollar ruby!

Spinel and ruby are chemically similar. Spinel is magnesium aluminum oxide
and ruby is aluminum oxide. This is probably why the two are similar in a
few properties. Not suprisingly, the red coloring agent in both gems is the
same element, chromium. Spinel and Ruby also have similar luster (refractive
index), density and hardness. Although ruby is considerably harder (9) than
spinel, spinel's hardness (7.5 - 8) still makes it one of the hardest
minerals in nature.

Varieties - Star material is very rare.

History - Two of the stones among the Crown Jewels of England are spinels,
although they were once thought to be rubies. They are the Black Prince's
Ruby and the Timur Ruby. The 361 carat Timur Ruby is the world's most famous
spinel. Spinel was recognized as a separate species as early as 1587 in
Burma.

Spinel is the great imposter of gemstone history: many famous rubies in
crown jewels around the world are actually spinel. The most famous is the
Black Prince's Ruby, a magnificent 170-carat red spinel that currently
adorns the Imperial State Crown in the British Crown Jewels after a long
history: Henry V even wore it on his battle helmet! The Timur Ruby, a
352-carat red spinel now owned by Queen Elizabeth, has the names of some of
the Mughal emperors who previously owned it engraved on its face, an
undeniable pedigree!
In Burma (Myanmar), where some of the most beautiful colors are mined,
spinel was recognized as a separate gem species as early as 1587. In other
countires the masquerade lasted for hundreds of years after that. Spinels
were most often referred to as "balas rubies" which may have referred to
color or to country of origin.

Now treasured for its own sake, spinel is a favorite of gem dealers and gem
collectors due to its brilliance, hardness and wide range of spectacular
colors. In addition to beautiful rich reds, spinel can be found in a range
of beautiful pastel shades of pink and purple. Of particular interest is a
vivid hot pink with a tinge of orange that is mined in Burma that is one of
the most spectacular gemstone colors in any gem species. Spinel also comes
in beautiful blues which are sometimes called cobalt spinel, but these are
very very rare.

Because spinels made in a laboratory are often used for imitation birthstone
rings, many people think "synthetic" when they hear the name "spinel." They
have often never even seen the real thing. In fact, the main thing holding
back greater recognition for spinel is rarity. Fine spinels are now more
rare than the rubies they used to imitate. Strangely, they are also more
affordable: in the gem world, too rare can be a drawback because so few
people even get a chance to grow to love these gem varieties.

In addition to Burma, now known as Myanmar, spinel is mined in Sri Lanka,
Tanzania, and Tadjikstan, part of the former Soviet Union.

Spinel is a durable gemstone that is perfect for all jewelry uses. It is
most often faceted in oval, round, or cushion shapes and is not currently
found in calibrated sizes due to its rarity.

The name "spinel" is derived from the Greek word for spark, in reference to
the fiery red color of spinels often used for gems. The transparent red
spinels are also called spinel-rubies or balas-rubies and were often
confused with actual rubies in ancient times. "Balas" is derived from
Balascia, the ancient name for Badakhshan, a region in central Asia situated
in the upper valley of the Kokcha river, one of the principal tributaries of
the Oxus river. Yellow spinel is called rubicelle and violet-colored
manganese-bearing spinel is called almandine.

Spinel is found as a metamorphic mineral, and also as a primary mineral in
basic rocks, because in such magmas the absence of alkalis prevents the
formation of feldspars and any aluminium oxide present will form corundum or
combine with magnesia to form spinel. This is why spinel and ruby are often
found together.

Sri Lanka produces blue spinels colored by cobalt. Such cobalt blue spinels
are highly sought after by collectors. The best pieces are an intense blue
unique in the world of gems.

Aquamarine Gemstones

Aquamarine is the blue, or perhaps more correctly, blue-green or aqua
variety of the mineral beryl. Other gemstone color varieties that belong to
beryl include emerald, morganite, and heliodor. Other colors of beryl are
simply referred to by their colour, such as red beryl. Most gem aquamarines
have been heat treated to produce the popular blue-green varieties from less
desirable yellow or pale stones.

Its light blue arouses feelings of sympathy, trust, harmony and friendship.
Good feelings. Feelings which are based on mutuality and which prove their
worth in lasting relationships. The blue of aquamarine is a divine, eternal
color, because it is the color of the sky. However, aquamarine blue is also
the colour of water with its life-giving force. And aquamarine really does
seem to have captured the lucid blue of the oceans. No wonder, when you
consider that according to the saga it originated in the treasure chest of
fabulous mermaids, and has, since ancient times, been regarded as the
sailors' lucky stone. Its name is derived from the Latin aqua (water) and
mare (sea). It is said that its strengths are developed to their best
advantage when it is placed in water which is bathed in sunlight. However,
it is surely better still to wear aquamarine, since according to the old
traditions this promises a happy marriage and is said to bring the woman who
wears it joy and wealth into the bargain. An ideal gem, not only for loving
and married couples.

Treatments - Almost all aquamarine is heat-treated to enhance its blue
color. Irradiation with neutron, gamma rays or with x-rays. Colour change is
permanent and is an accepted practice. A morganite (pink beryl) turns deep
purple blue (Maxixe type) upon ultraviolet irradiation, though the color is
not stable.

History - The word aquamarine comes from the Latin for sea water. In 1910 a
243 lb. crystal was found in Brazil. The outside was greenish and the inside
was blue. It sold for $25,000 and was cut into many high quality gems. The
American Museum of Natural History has a 13 lb. uncut piece of the green
outside portion.

Aquamarine (Lat. aqua marina, "water of the sea") is a gemstone-quality
transparent variety of beryl, having a delicate blue or blue-green color,
suggestive of the tint of sea-water. It's closely related to the gem
emerald. Colors vary and yellow beryl, called heliodor; rose pink beryl,
morganite; and white beryl, goshenite are known.
Aquamarine is one of our most popular and best-known gemstones, and
distinguishes itself by many good qualities. It is almost as popular as the
classics: ruby, sapphire and emerald. In fact it is related to the emerald,
both belonging to the beryl family. The color of aquamarine, however, is
usually more even than that of the emerald. Much more often than its famous
green cousin, aquamarine is almost entirely free of inclusions. Aquamarine
has good hardness (7_ to 8 on the Mohs scale) and a wonderful shine.

That hardness makes it very tough and protects it to a large extent from
scratches. Iron is the substance which gives aquamarine its color, a colour
which ranges from an almost indiscernible pale blue to a strong sea-blue.
The more intense the color of an aquamarine, the more value is put on it.
Some aquamarines have a light, greenish shimmer; that too is a typical
feature. However, it is a pure, clear blue that continues to epitomise the
aquamarine, because it brings out so well the immaculate transparency and
magnificent shine of this gemstone.

The bright blue of this noble beryl is making more and more friends. The
various color nuances of aquamarine have melodious names: the rare, intense
blue aquamarines from the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Brazil, which make
every gemstone lover's heart beat faster, are called 'Santa Maria'. Similar
nuances come from a few gemstone mines in Africa, particularly Mozambique.
To help distinguish them from the Brazilian ones, these aquamarines have
been given the name 'Santa Maria Africana'. The 'Espirito Santo' colour of
aquamarines from the Brazilian state of that name is of a blue that is not
quite so intense. Yet other qualities are embodied in the stones from
Fortaleza and Marambaia. One beautiful aquamarine color was named after the
Brazilian beauty queen of 1954, and has the name 'Martha Rocha'.

It can be seen from the names of aquamarine colors just how important Sri
Lanka and Brazil are among the countries where aquamarine is found. Most of
the raw crystals for the world market come from the gemstone mines of that
large South American country. Every now and then, large aquamarine crystals
of immaculate transparency are also found with a magnificent color, a
combination which is very unusual in gemstones. And very occasionally,
sensationally large aquamarine crystals come to light in Brazil, such as the
crystal of 110.5 Kg found in 1910 in Marambaia/Minas Gerais, or for example
the 'Dom Pedro', weighing 26 Kg and cut in Idar-Oberstein in 1992 by the
gemstone designer Bernd Munsteiner, the largest aquamarine ever to have been
cut. However, aquamarines are also found in other countries, for example
Nigeria, Zambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

There is hardly any other gemstone in modern jewellery design which is
refined in such a variety of ways as aquamarine. Whether it is fashioned as
a clear, transparent gem in the classical step cut, or creatively cut in a
more modern design, it is always fascinatingly beautiful. Uncut too, or with
many inclusions which can be brought into play by the designer in the way in
which the stone is cut, it can be refined to produce the most beautiful
creations.

Designers call it their favourite gemstone. Again and again they take the
world by surprise with a new, modern artistic cut, and when they are
breaking new ground, aquamarine is a gem that they particularly like to work
with.

Without doubt, these creative designer cuts have contributed to the great
popularity of this gem. The lucid colour of aquamarine makes it easy to see
inclusions. For this reason, aquamarine should always be of the greatest
possible transparency. On the other hand, particularly charming effects can
sometimes be achieved in the way the gemstone is cut by bringing the
inclusions into play. The light color of aquamarine leaves the gemstone
designer free to bring out the brilliance of the gem with fine grooves,
notches, curves and edges. In this way, each aquamarine becomes a unique
specimen, whose magical attraction no woman can resist.

Quartz Crystals

Quartz is the most common mineral on the face of the Earth. Gem varieties
include amethyst (purple), citrine (yellow), milky quartz (cloudy, white
variety), rock crystal (clear variety), rose quartz (pink to reddish-pink
variety), and smokey quartz (brown to grey variety).

The word amethyst comes from the Greek amethustos meaning "not drunk".
Therefore, it has been considered a charm against intoxication. A legend
accounts for the origin of the stone. Supposedly, Bacchus, the god of wine
and conviviality, grew angry at a slight and swore revenge. He decreed that
the first mortal to come across his path was to be eaten by tigers.
Amethyst, a beautiful maiden on her way to worship at the shrine of Diana,
happened to be the victim. Diana, the huntress, changed Amethyst into
colorless quartz to protect her from the tigers. When Bacchus witnessed the
miracle, he repented and poured wine over the stone, staining it purple. The
wine failed to cover the entire stone evenly, and the feet and part of the
legs remained clear crystal. So, in keeping with the legend, amethyst
crystals are usually uneven in color with a colourless base.

Varieties - A variety of quartz, silicon dioxide, which appears to be dark
purple in transparent light. A transparent variety of quartz, silicon
dioxide, occurring in yellow to red-orange to orange-brown. The name is
derived from citron, which is French for lemon.

Treatments - Poor quality amethyst is often heat-treated to achieve a
desirable citrine colour.

History - The name "quartz" comes from the German "Quarz", which is of
Slavic origin (Czech miners called it krem). Other sources insist the name
is from the Saxon word "Querkluftertz", meaning cross-vein ore.
Quartz is the most common material identified as the mystical substance
maban in Australian Aboriginal mythology.

Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder believed quartz to be permanently frozen
ice. He supported this idea by saying that quartz is found near glaciers in
the Alps and that large quartz crystals were fashioned into spheres to cool
the hands. He also knew of the ability of quartz to split light into a
spectrum.

Nicolas Steno's study of quartz paved the way for modern crystallography. He
discovered that no matter how distorted a quartz crystal, the long prism
faces always made a perfect 60 degree angle.

Charles Sawyer invented the commercial quartz crystal manufacturing process
in Cleveland, OH. This initiated the transition from mined and cut quartz
for electrical appliances to manufactured quartz.

Quartz is one of the most common minerals in the Earth's continental crust.
It has a hexagonal crystal structure made of trigonal crystallized silica
(silicon dioxide, SiO2), with a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale. Density is
2.65 g/cm³. The typical shape is a six-sided prism that ends in six-sided
pyramids, although these are often twinned, distorted, or so massive that
only part of the shape is apparent from a mined specimen. Additionally a bed
is a common form, particularly for varieties such as amethyst, where the
crystals grow up from a matrix and thus only one termination pyramid is
present. A quartz geode consists of a hollow rock (usually with an
approximately spherical shape) with a core lined with a bed of crystals.
Quartz is one of the world's most common crustal minerals and goes by a
bewildering array of different names. The most important distinction between
types of quartz is that of macrocrystalline (individual crystals visible to
the unaided eye) and the microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline varieties
(aggregates of crystals visible only under high magnification). Chalcedony
is a generic term for cryptocrystalline quartz. The cryptocrystalline
varieties are either translucent or mostly opaque, while the transparent
varieties tend to be macrocrystalline.

Although many of the varietal names historically arose from the color of the
mineral, current scientific naming schemes refer primarily to the
microstructure of the mineral. Colour is a secondary identifier for the
cryptocrystalline minerals, although it is a primary identifier for the
macrocrystalline varieties. This does not always hold true.

Not all varieties of quartz are naturally occurring. Prasiolite, an olive
colored material, is produced by heat treatment; natural prasiolite has also
been obeserved in Lower Silesia in Poland. Although citrine occurs
naturally, the majority is the result of heat-treated amethyst. Carnelian is
widely heat-treated to deepen its color.

Because natural quartz is so often twinned, much quartz used in industry is
synthesized. Large, flawless and untwinned crystals are produced in an
autoclave via the hydrothermal process: emeralds are also synthesized in
this fashion.

Quartz occurs in hydrothermal veins and pegmatites. Well-formed crystals may
reach several metres in length and weigh hundreds of kilograms. These veins
may bear precious metals such as gold or silver, and form the quartz ores
sought in mining. Erosion of pegmatites may reveal expansive pockets of
crystals, known as "cathedrals."

Quartz is a common constituent of granite, sandstone, limestone, and many
other igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.

Tridymite and cristobalite are high temperature polymorphs of SiO2 which
occur in high silica volcanic rocks. Lechatelierite is an amorphous silica
glass SiO2 which is formed by lightning strikes in quartz sand.

Quartz is also a type of piezoelectric crystal that creates electricity
through a process called piezoelectricity when mechanical stress is put upon
it. One of the earliest uses for a quartz crystal was a phonograph pickup.
Today, one of the most ubiquitous piezoelectric uses of quartz is as a
crystal oscillator -- in fact these oscillators are often simply called
"quartzes". The same principle is also used for very accurate measurements
of very small mass changes by means of the quartz crystal microbalance.

Topaz

Topaz comes in many colors such as blue, yellow, pink, brown, green and
clear. Orange-red "Imperial" topaz is rare. Blue Topaz is much less
expensive than aquamarine and as such very popular. It looks beautiful in
rings, bracelets, necklaces, and pendants. Topaz looks magnificent with
almost any outfit.

Topaz is a common gemstone that has been used for centuries in jewelry. Its
golden brown to yellow color is classic but is confused with the less
valuable citrine, which is sold under the name topaz. The blue topaz that is
often confused with aquamarine is rarely natural and is produced by
irradiating and then heating clear crystals. Topaz is the November
Birthstone. Topaz crystals can reach incredible size of several houndred
pounds. Topaz can make very attractive mineral specimens due to their high
luster, nice colors and well formed and multifaceted crystals.

Topaz is a fluosilicate of aluminum, occurring in transparent yellow,
yellow-brown, orange-brown, light to almost medium red, very light to light
blue, very light green and violet colours.

Varieties - Coloured varieties, Imperial (reddish-orange), chatoyant
material (very rare).

Sources - Prime source is Brazil. Sri Lanka (blue), Mexico (mostly poor
quality, brownish-yellow), Russia, South Africa (blue), Utah, Afghanistan.

Treatments - Heat and chemical treatments.

History - The stone began to be used in Marco Polo's time (13th century).
Topaz mounted in gold and hung around the neck was believed to dispel
enchantment. When the powdered stone was put in wine, it was considered a
cure for asthma, insomnia, burns and haemorrhages. Topaz was supposed to
become obscure in contact with poison and to quench the heat of boiling
water. All these powers were believed to be increased or decreased with the
changes of the moon.

It has an easy and perfect basal cleavage and so gemstones or other fine
specimens should be handled with care to avoid developing cleavage flaws.
The fracture is conchoidal to uneven. Topaz has a hardness of 8, a specific
gravity of 3.4-3.6, and a vitreous luster. Pure topaz is transparent but is
usually tinted by impurities; typical topaz is wine or straw-yellow. They
may also be white, gray, green, blue, pink or reddish-yellow and transparent
or translucent. When heated, yellow topaz often becomes reddish-pink. It can
also be irradiated, turning the stone a light and distinctive shade of blue.
A recent trend in jewelry is the manufacture of topaz specimens that display
iridescent colors, by applying a thin layer of titanium oxide via physical
vapor deposition.
The Egyptians said that topaz was colored with the golden glow of the mighty
sun god Ra. This made topaz a very powerful amulet that protected the
faithful against harm. The Romans associated topaz with Jupiter, who also is
the god of the sun. Topaz sometimes has the amber gold of fine cognac or the
blush of a peach and all the beautiful warm browns and oranges inbetween.
Some rare and exceptional topaz are pale pink to a sherry red.

Wear topaz only if you wish to be clear-sighted: legend has it that it
dispels all enchantment and helps to improve eyesight as well! The ancient
Greeks believed that it had the power to increase strength and make its
wearer invisible in times of emergency. Topaz was also said to change color
in the presence of poisoned food or drink. Its mystical curative powers
waxed and waned with the phases of the moon: it was said to cure insomnia,
asthma, and hemorrhages.

Perhaps the most famous topaz is a giant specimen set in the Portuguese
Crown, the Braganza, which was first thought to be a diamond. There is also
a beautiful topaz set in the Green Vault in Dresden, one of the world's
important gem collections.

Brown, yellow, orange, sherry, red, blue and pink topaz is found in Brazil
and Sri Lanka. Pink topaz is found in Pakistan and Russia.

Today we also have blue topaz, which has a pale to medium blue color created
by irradiation. Pale topaz which is enhanced to become blue is found in
Brazil, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and China. In early 1998, a new type of enhanced
topaz made its appearance, the surface-enhanced topaz, with colours
described as blue to greenish-blue or emerald green.

Topaz is the birthstone for those born in the month of November.

Cat's Eye Gemstones

A cat's eye like effect, known as 'chatoyancy', appears to move on this
stone's surface. Cat's eye is a gem variety of chrysoberyl.

There are generally two varieties of cat's eye - the alexandrite cat's-eye
and the chrysoberyl cat's-eye, which is very popular in the Far East,
particularly in Japan. The ideal colors of the chrysoberyl cat's-eye are
yellowish-brown, which is called the honey colour, and the yellow-green,
which is called the apple green colour. A very good cat's eye, apart from
being of ideal color, should have a high degree of transparency and a
well-defined unbroken ray. It should be free from any distracting inclusions
visible to the unaided eye. The chrysoberyl cat's-eye is one of the most
beautiful gemstones because of the "chatoyancy" or the eye effect.

Varieties - Chrysoberyl and Alexandrite, Color change green to red,
Chatoyant, Various shades of green, yellow, brownish, and reddish.

History - Cat's eye has been regarded as a preserver of good fortune. The
natives of Sri Lanka still consider it a charm against evil spirits. British
royalty often use it as an engagement stone.

A translucent variety of chrysoberyl (beryllium aluminum oxide) which
exhibits a silvery white line across the stone. This moves as the stone, the
light source or the observer moves and may appear to open and close like an
eye. The finest quality has a sharp eye that appears to open and close as
the stone is rotated, and exhibits a strong "milk and honey" effect (stone
on one side of the eye appears lighter than the other). These colours switch
as the stone or light source is moved. The most highly prized body colours
are greenish-yellow and brownish-yellow (honey color).
When a gem specimen exhibits both chatoyancy and change of colour, one or
both phenomena will suffer. It is more common to find a good eye with poor
change of color. The conditions necessary for one phenomenon conflict with
those needed for the other. The term cat's eye when used alone refers to
chrysoberyl. Other minerals exhibiting chatoyancy must be qualified, e.g.
tourmaline cat's eye.

Often, the name chrysoberyl is spoken in the same breath as that of the
beryl group, the most well known representatives of which include the
emerald and the aquamarine. The name 'chrysoberyl' comes from the Greek and
means 'gold-colored beryl'. In spite of its name however, it is not actually
a beryl at all. Together with alexandrite, chrysoberyl forms an independent
gemstone, in which the former, which appears to change its colour, is
regarded as the most attractive representative, though in fact it is quite
definitely the chrysoberyl cat's eye which is entitled to stake that claim.

From a mineralogical point of view, chrysoberyls are aluminium oxide
containing beryllium, and thus actually have little in common with the
beryls, which belong to the silicate family. Indeed, with their excellent
hardness of 8_ on the Mohs Scale, they are clearly superior to the beryls.
The popular chrysoberyls come in many nuances between lemon and greenish
yellow, and in honey colors and shades from mint green to brownish green,
and are mostly found in the gemstone deposits of Brazil, Sri Lanka or East
Africa.

Since ancient times, chrysoberyl has been regarded as a gemstone which
protects its wearer and keeps disaster at bay. The cat's eye most of all is
seen as a particularly effective protective stone and talisman. On account
of its golden tones, chrysoberyl is often also associated with wealth - and
this idea is certainly not without foundation, since in its most beautiful
form as a high-quality cat's eye it is up among the gemstones of the luxury
class.

Discipline and self-control are the qualities mainly associated with
chrysoberyl in modern gemstone therapy. Chrysoberyls are said to promote
concentration and the ability to learn, and to enable the wearer to think
clearly and far-sightedly. Thanks to the secret power of the chrysoberyl,
negative thoughts are said to be transformed into positive energy. And these
positive qualities are said to be even more marked with a chrysoberyl cat's
eye. However, chrysoberyl is also regarded as a gemstone which promotes
tolerance and harmony, and it is one of the lucky stones for those born
under the sign of Leo.

Chrysoberyl cat's eyes are genuine rarities which are found only in a few
deposits in the world, together with other varieties of chrysoberyl. One can
hardly imagine that a gemstone could wink like the eye of a cat in such a
remarkably genuine way. Is it magic, or Nature? And apart from that, what is
it that causes this irresistibly beautiful show of light?

Scientists have discovered that very fine inclusions, deposited in the
stone, are responsible for this fascinating phenomenon. The incident light
is reflected off them, so that a bright strip of light appears, running
perpendicular to the inclusions, similar to the eye of a feline predator.
When the stone is turned, this strip seems to glide away across the surface
of the stone. In technical terminology this phenomenon is known as
'chatoyancy', which comes from the French chat (for cat) and oeil (for eye).
Whilst chrysoberyls lacking the cat's eye effect are mostly faceted, cat's
eyes are always cut into cabochons, since only tall, rounded shapes render
the line of the eye properly visible.

The chrysoberyl, with its hues ranging from honey-coloured to mint green, is
a popular gemstone, and one which is esteemed by connoisseurs and gemstone
lovers the world over. In its most attractive variety, the cat's-eye, it is
an extremely valuable stone for those in the know. In general, the value of
a chrysoberyl - as with other gemstones - depends on its quality, that is to
say its beauty, color and attractiveness, the depth of the color and its
transparency. Anyone who wants to acquire a cat's-eye of good colour and
with a finely marked eye-line will be obliged to dig fairly deep into his
pocket, for these gems fetch much higher prices on account of their beauty
and rarity. When buying a cat's-eye, you should be aware of this: it is
important that the 'eye' has a fine line running right through it, and that
it can be recognised clearly. In particularly good specimens, it seems to
open and close when the stone is turned. Fine cat's eyes should be of a
distinctive color and be as transparent as possible. The most popular ones
are those of a beautiful honey yellow and those with fine green tones.

Chrysoberyl cat's eyes are among the most beautiful things that Nature has
created. Again and again, they fire the enthusiasm of those who are looking
for something individual and unique. Cat's eyes are also well suited to
being worn as jewellery by men. And without doubt, there is many a man who
has allowed himself to be seduced by a beautiful cat's eye too

Until recently the main producers of fine quality chrysoberyl were Brazil
and Sri Lanka, but now much more productive mines are in Madagascar and
Tanzania. Because Sri Lanka Chrysoberyl has the finest quality and high
value most of the Madagascar rough is sold as genuine Sri Lanka stones.

When choosing a Chrysoberyl gemstone, due to the pastel color of
chrysoberyl, special attention should be given to the cut and overall
proportions of the stone. When choosing a cat's eye gemstone priority should
be given to the ray or eye of the stone.