Of the three birthstones that belong to June, alexandrite is the one almost nobody has held. I have worked with gemstones for over fifty years, and genuine alexandrite still stops me. It is the stone that changes color, green in daylight and red under a lamp, and that single trick has made it one of the most sought after gems on earth.
If you or someone you love has a June birthday, alexandrite is worth understanding even if you never buy one. It tells you something about why June is such an unusual birth month, and it sets a high bar that the other June stones, pearl and moonstone, answer in their own quieter ways.
What alexandrite actually is
Alexandrite is a variety of the mineral chrysoberyl. Plain chrysoberyl is a fine gem in its own right, hard and bright, but alexandrite is the rare version that contains traces of chromium. That chromium is the whole story. It is the same element that turns a beryl into an emerald and a corundum into a ruby, and in chrysoberyl it does something stranger: it lets the stone absorb light in a way that makes its color depend on the light source.
On the Mohs hardness scale alexandrite sits at 8.5, harder than almost everything except sapphire, ruby and diamond. That makes it practical for daily wear, which is not true of every June stone. A pearl is soft and a moonstone is fragile, but an alexandrite ring can take a life of bumps and still look new.
Emerald by day, ruby by night
The famous description of alexandrite is “emerald by day, ruby by night,” and a good stone earns it. Outdoors or under daylight-balanced light, fine alexandrite reads green to bluish green. Move into a room lit by an old-fashioned incandescent bulb or candlelight, and the same stone shifts to red, raspberry or purplish red. Nothing about the stone has changed. Only the light has.
The strength of that shift is what separates an everyday alexandrite from a great one. The best material swings almost completely from green to red. Lesser stones move from a murky gray-green to a brownish red, which is far less convincing. When I judge one, the color change matters more than the size, and a small stone with a clean, dramatic shift is worth more than a large one that barely moves.
Shopping for a June birthday? See my handcrafted abalone pearl rings and moonstone rings, or ask me about a custom piece.
A stone named for a tsar
Alexandrite was found in the Ural Mountains of Russia in the 1830s, in the same region known for its emeralds. The story goes that it was named for the young Alexander, the future Tsar Alexander II, and the timing helped. Green and red happened to be the military colors of imperial Russia, so a gem that wore both was destined to be a national favorite. It became a symbol of the Russian aristocracy and stayed scarce because the original Ural deposits were small and were mostly worked out within a few decades.
That short supply is part of why alexandrite carries the weight it does. For a long time, almost the only fine alexandrite in the world came from one exhausted Russian mine.
What alexandrite means
Because it holds two colors in one body, alexandrite has always been tied to balance and to the meeting of opposites. People who follow the metaphysical side of gemstones associate it with intuition, emotional balance, good fortune and a kind of inner reconciliation, the joining of what is felt and what is known. You do not have to believe any of that to enjoy the symbolism. A stone that looks like two gems depending on how you see it is a fair emblem for a complicated, changeable person, which is most of us.
Alexandrite is also the traditional gift for a 55th wedding anniversary, a milestone rare enough to suit a gem this rare.
Where alexandrite comes from now
With the Russian deposits largely gone, today’s natural alexandrite comes mainly from Brazil, Sri Lanka and East Africa, especially Tanzania. Brazilian material from the Hematita find in the late 1980s produced some superb color-change stones. Sri Lankan alexandrite tends to be larger but often shifts toward a softer green and brownish red. African stones vary widely. Wherever it comes from, fine natural alexandrite above a carat is rare and priced accordingly, often rivaling fine ruby or sapphire.
An honest word on natural versus lab-grown
This is where a jeweler owes you the truth. Most of the “alexandrite” sold today, especially anything large, inexpensive and strongly color-changing, is lab-created. Synthetic alexandrite has existed since the 1960s and a good one shows a clean, vivid shift that can actually look more dramatic than many natural stones. There is also a long history of color-change synthetic sapphire and spinel being sold as alexandrite, which they are not.
None of that is a problem as long as you know what you are buying. A lab-grown alexandrite is a real, beautiful, durable gem and a sensible choice for a June birthday on a normal budget. What you should never do is pay a natural price for a synthetic stone, or accept “alexandrite” without asking whether it is natural, lab-grown chrysoberyl, or a color-change imitation. If a seller cannot answer that plainly, walk away.
I work in opal and natural pearl rather than alexandrite, so I have no stone to sell you here. That is exactly why I can tell you to slow down and ask the question.
Alexandrite and the rest of June
Alexandrite is the showpiece of June, but it is not the only answer. June carries three birthstones precisely so that there is a choice across price and personality, and the other two are stones I do make. If alexandrite is out of reach, a natural pearl gives June its oldest and most classic look, and moonstone offers a soft, glowing alternative that suits the same dreamy, June-at-the-solstice mood.
If you would like a June piece you can actually wear every day, my abalone pearl rings are natural California seawater pearls set by hand, and you can see my moonstone rings in the shop. For something built around a specific stone, I also take on custom commissions.
Caring for an alexandrite
This is the easy part. At 8.5 on the Mohs scale with no cleavage to worry about, alexandrite is one of the most durable colored stones you can own. Warm water, mild soap and a soft brush keep it clean. It tolerates ultrasonic cleaners better than most gems, though if a stone has visible inclusions I still prefer hand cleaning to be safe. Unlike pearl or opal, it will not mind being worn hard.
Is alexandrite the right June stone for you?
If you want the rarest, most fascinating option June has to offer and you are buying natural, expect to pay for it and to buy from someone who will document the stone. If you love the color-change effect but not the price, a quality lab-grown alexandrite delivers the same magic honestly. And if you would rather have something handmade and personal, the other two June stones are waiting.
To see how alexandrite fits alongside pearl and moonstone, read my guide to the June birthstone and the companion piece on why June has three birthstones. If your birthday lands right at the solstice, the June 21 birthstone guide is for you. June and October sit on opposite sides of the year, so if you are shopping for the other end, my October birthstone guide covers opal.
Have a June birthday in mind and want a piece made by hand around a pearl or moonstone? Get in touch and tell me what you are picturing.
