The first ever discovery of Alexandrite took place in a remote area of Russia on the Asiatic side of the Urals along the Tokovaya River near the city of Ekaterinburg (named for the beloved Empress Catherine II). In a few short years it became one of the richest gemstone mines in the world, rivaling the great emerald mines of Cleopatra in Sikeit, Egypt’s Zabara Mountain region. From this mining area, in addition to alexandrite came emerald, aquamarine, amethyst, chysoberyl, quartz, blue topaz, fluoritie, apatite, rutile and phenakite. Ekaterinburg -- as fortune would have it -- was located on the great road from Russia to Siberia, which turned it into a fair sized city by the turn of the 1800's. Within a short time it became a city where most of the population was associated with mining, cutting and carving gemstones or minting coins. (Today it is know by the name of Sverdlovsk, having been renamed by the Soviets). It is very seldom visited by tourists since very little is left of the rich mines once associated with the region.
As the story goes, the first discovery of gemstones in the region took place by a peasant charcoal-burner who was on his way to Ekaterinburg. Following along a trail next to the Tokovaya River, he had to pass over a large, recently storm fallen tree. Surprisingly, within its large exposed roots he found sparkling gem crystals. As a loyal citizen, he took the crystals to the gem cutting lapidaries within the city. Of course the businesses were closely controlled by Czar Nicholas, who was immediately notified of the great find. Soon after, government mines were everywhere within the region, using local citizens as the workers.
Of great interest was a member of the chrysoberyl family, a most unusual stone, first described as a stone "with the ability to change color under prevailing light. In daylight, rich green colors reflected from its rich dark purplish background, while at night, under artificial light, it emitted red hues." It was, by chance, first discovered on April 23rd, 1830, Czarevitch Alexander Nicolajevitch's birthday after whom it was so named "Alexandrite." It became an instant hit and it’s unusual colors (the reflected colors were also the colors of the Russian Military) made it an instant novelty. It became an even more popular gemstone when its young namesake Alexander became the Czar of Russia in 1855. Alexandrite became so highly prized it is said that by 1898 it was selling for as much as $38 per carat for top quality stones. The thin vein deposits were usually mined by open pit or trench techniques by very crude methods. The long harsh winter brought mining to a standstill during the bitter cold season. Despite the many stones that were mined compared to the many other gemstones this area did not yield large crystals of facet-graded quality for the demanding Russian lapidaries. Only a few stones of any size over 3 carats were ever found and cut from the Tokovaya River deposits and in time have become the rarest and most expensive gemstones on this planet. It is believed that the largest specimen ever found is presently housed in the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in Moscow. It is approximately 18 X 13 centimeters and contains at least 22 large crystals in matrix. Today a one carat Alexandrite of outstanding quality is approximately $10,000.00. Only small and insignificant pockets of crystals have been found throughout the world until the rich deposits recently discovered in Brazil in the mid 1990’s.