Sell Alexandrite Estate Jewelry: Rings, Earrings & Pendants

What Alexandrite Jewelry is Most Valuable?

If you are interested in selling your Alexandrite jewelry, you must be wondering how valuable it is. When it comes to the gems themselves, the most prized alexandrite exhibits a dramatic color change, often described as “emerald by day, ruby by night.”

In daylight or fluorescent light, high-quality alexandrite appears green to bluish-green. Under incandescent light, it changes to red or purplish-red. The more distinct and vivid the color change, the more valuable the stone.

Alexandrite can also exhibit other colors ranging from yellow-green to pink and teal to raspberry red. If you would like to better examine the color changes in your Alexandrite follow these steps.

How to Observe Color Changing Alexandrite

1. Cleaning. First, be sure your alexandrite jewelry is clean. Dirt and oils can affect the appearance of the stone. Use a soft brush, mild soap, and warm water to clean it gently, then pat it dry with a soft cloth.

2. Natural Light. Next, you want to observe your Alexandrite jewelry under natural lighting conditions. Find a spot with ample natural daylight, such as near a window or outside in the shade. Hold the jewelry up to the light and observe the color.

Note the primary color you see, which should be in the green to bluish-green range. Rotate the stone slightly to see if the color changes or deepens from different angles.

3. Incandescent Light. Now, observe the Alexandrite under incandescent light (e.g. a light bulb with a filament). Hold your jewelry under the light and observe the color change. You should see the stone shift to a red, purplish-red, or raspberry red hue.

Again, rotate the stone to observe any variations in color intensity.

4. LED Light. Lastly, observe the Alexandrite gemstones under LED lighting. If you have an LED light with adjustable color temperature, experiment with different settings (cool white and warm white).

Under cool white LED light, the stone may appear similar to how it looked in natural daylight, showing greenish hues. Under warm white LED light, it might show more red tones, akin to incandescent light.

Rotate the stone to examine how the color changes.

Doing this kind of examination isn’t necessary to sell your Alexandrite jewelry in San Diego. However, if you undertake these steps, be sure to record all of this information before contacting an estate jeweler like C. Blackburn Jewelers.

This is because the more Alexandrite information you can provide us with the photos you send, the better we can estimate the potential value of your Alexandrite jewelry prior to making an appointment for an in-person visit.

Note that the mining source of your Alexandrite gemstone(s) can also impact the price, with the most prized Alexandrites historically coming from Russia’s Ural Mountains. Today, notable sources include Brazil and Sri Lanka.

Over the decades, many famous fine jewelers like Tiffany & Co., Cartier, Harry Winston, Bvlgari, Van Cleef & Arpels, and David Webb have incorporated Alexandrite into their fine jewelry creations. This Alexandrite estate jewelry often is very valuable, and requires the expertise of a professional estate jeweler like C. Blackburn Jewelers (La Jolla) to ensure that you receive a generous cash price that accurately reflects your jewelry’s resale value.