Laser Rod Alexandrite Faceted Stones Lab Created

These are genuine, lab-grown alexandrite gems faceted from partial or decommissioned laser rods.  These have a bit lighter doping than our usual laser alexandrite which means the blue and green hues are more visible.

We recently got our hands on a few decommissioned rods of alexandrite from lasers! These rods likely lived out a full career inside lasers as their lasing medium, but eventually they were pushed too far and the ends blew off, rendering them inoperable--sometimes to salvage rods they can saw off ends and then repolish them, leaving behind orphaned alexandrite which we acquired for gem usage. Now they get to live out their retirement as gemstones! While they may have been designed for science they make amazing gems as well. They have a strong color change from blue-green to purple-pink and better yet often show flashes of both in mixed lighting. On top of that they also show rich red fluorescence which affects their color, and the angle of lighting will also cause differences in color because this material is strongly trichroic.

Alexandrite is the color-changing chromium-bearing variety of chrysoberyl, and it has been a popular gem since the first natural deposits were discovered in Russia. Its high hardness (8.5) and durability make it suitable even for ring wear, and that along with its incredible combination of colors has made it a classic. The only thing holding it back is its rarity. Oddly enough even lab-created alexandrite is quite uncommon. Synthetic alexandrite is mostly grown for industry, where it is used in some particular high-end laser systems, and the process to grow it is very expensive. Very little is produced anymore, and even when it was produced it was uncommon on the gem market. Usually instead lab-created sapphire with a color change effect was sold as alexandrite, but that material really can't hold a candle to alexandrite.