[Jewelry making - Article 01006] - Re: [Orchid] Alexandrite Ring Repair

[David L. Huffman]

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>         The chance that the stone is a man made alexandrite  on that
>     "old" ring is pretty slight. 

Hi Jerry;

    Actually, it's most likely a synthetic.  An 8 X 10 millimeter
    Alexandrite of natural origin is something that people are not likely
    to lose track of. They've never been common in such large sizes, and
    would always have been very expensive.  I do extensive work in
    retoration of antique jewelry and these sythetic alexandrites were
    quite common.  I believe I've seen them in pieces dating from the
    20's.  This was covered in a previous Orchid post, and many,
    including myself, identified this material as doped man made
    corundum.  Best to remove the stone from the mounting before torch
    work. Although it would likely withstand the heat of retipping, it's
    not worth the chance, since, although the stone has no great
    intrinsic value, it could be hard to find a replacement. 

David L. Huffman

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