Speak with a Jewellery Specialist - Book An Appointment
Knowledge
Most often seen as mineral specimens in specialist collections, chrysoberyl is also one of the hardest and most durable gemstones, and has been used in antique jewellery for centuries.
Gemstones
The Varieties of Chrysoberyl
Chrysoberyl forms in metamorphic rocks which contain beryllium. Their name derives from the Ancient Greek ‘chrysos’ meaning gold and ‘berullos’ meaning transparency but were often known in historic documents as cymophane. Despite their name, chrysoberyls are not related to the gem group beryl, although both groups do contain the element beryllium.
The gem group of chrysoberyl comprises three varieties, chrysoberyl, cat’s eye chrysoberyl and alexandrite.
£13,000
£6,600
Chrysoberyl
The first variety is the common yellow-green transparent gem. This type can vary in colour from an attractive golden yellow through to a mint green hue. Sri Lanka and Brazil were the locations of the mines of the best quality transparent gem material.
Cat’s Eye Chrysoberyl
The second variety is the translucent yellow chatoyant ‘cat's eye' or ‘cymophane' type. More commonly known as cat's eye chrysoberyl, this variety has dual ‘honey and milk' colouration when a light passes over the stone. This is caused by tiny needle-like inclusions within the stone creating a moving band of light.
This gem is cut en cabochon which displays this phenomenon to its best advantage. The cat's eye variety accounts for only a very small overall percentage of chrysoberyl found and as such is very valuable. Its value is then further determined by the strength of this phenomenon.
Alexandrite
The third type of chrysoberyl is alexandrite, an extremely rare colour change gem which is rich in chromium and appears green in fluorescent light or daylight and pink-purplish red in incandescent light. This effect is caused by the way the gem absorbs light. It can also, rarely, appear in conjunction with chatoyancy, which adds to its value.
It was discovered in 1830 and later named by Count Lev Alekseevich Perovskii in honour of the future Tsar Alexander II of Russia who came of age on the day they were first discovered. The original mine in the Ural region in Russia remains its most famous locality with the first deposits producing the finest gems with a strong colour change and vivid hues. However this mine has long been depleted. Colour change is most highly prized and large sizes over 2 carats are infrequently mined, with a gem over 5 carats an incredibly rare find.
There has been a technical error - our staff have been informed.