Greetings, I have a ring with a stone that is red under incandescent light, and under fluorescent lamp it is either green or purple, depending on the lamp spectrum. In sunlight, the stone is purple, but in the shadow, or at sunset becomes green. Is this color change pattern consistent with Alexandrite color change? Thank you, Vera.
Color change Chrysoberyl (of which Alexandrite is a variety), is normally a teal blue / green colour in ordinary daylight. If exposed to incandescent light it should change to purple/ red.
There are other “colour change” gems including garnet, fluorite and sapphire.
There is a vast quantity of synthetic Alexandrite out there, they were hugely popular in the 50s /60s. Such synthetic Alexandrite was a definite purple color with a tinge of blue in daylight, changing to a bright hot pinkish red in candlelight. They are also “crystal clear” ie flawless.
Modern day synthetic Alexandrite is closer to natural colour - green/blue in daylight to purple/red under incandescent light, but again is easily identified by its perfect clarity.
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Please, see pictures of the stone attached: greenish is in the shadow during sunny day. Pink- under incandescent light. I bought it as lab-made alexandrite. However, under Sun and during cloudy conditions it has purple color. It does not fit in descriptions of any color changing gems you described. Could it be alexandrite, or what else could it be?
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I have seen these lab created alexandrites before. A lot of them are made in China I believe. This indeed looks to me like a lab created Alexandrite or synthetic. However, there are color changing sapphires, but I don’t believe this is a sapphire. I hope this helps. 
-Eric
Hi Eric,
Thank you for your response. My concern is that it turns green only in the shadow, or during sunset. But under the sun, or in cloudy day it is purple, not green. Is it still consistent with it being a synthetic Alexandrite?
Regards,
Vera.
My natural alexandrites go from blue/green in sunlight to purple in incandescent lighting. I also have some beautiful high quality lab grown gems from Russia. They also go green to purple or purple in sunshine to red in incandescent lighting.
I haven’t seen purple in sunlight to green
Lee
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Most likely manmade synthetic color change sapphire, quite common and available for about 100 years…
Hello , yes i agree wirh you mines a re from russia and look as your pics real russian change color
Regard
Your a wee bit off my friend, Alexandrite comes in many different colors as many as tourmaline. As a result the different color changes are significant to say the least, ie; two reds of the same color in sunlight one may change to green the other orange or purple. Color change is not at all consistent with any known regularity.
Not quite. It is Chrysoberyl that comes in many different colours. Alexandrite is the “name” given to the variety of Chrysoberyl that changes from blue green in daylight to raspberry purple under incandescent light.
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Indeed, what to buy ??
This is a subject im aware-am posting pictures of appraised alexandrite in pendent, the colors are greenish in daylight & purply/red in incandescent light, candle light is ideal. These are quick pics, ck out the different colors, only 2-steve…
My alexandrite chrysoberyl I have for sell are in General the color of red/raspberry/pink or purple in regular light. Then change to kind of a 100% peridoe green to an Emerald green or 100% beige. Now isn’t that crystal clear, ha ha? In other words, true high quality Alexandrite in my opinion, with these mysterious stones are like tossing your fishing hooks into the Ocean, you never know what your going to get. So there you go
and I’m pretty sure most so-called experts and degreed Geologist will agree with me.
Nice.
Otter