Alexandrite: The Coolest Gemstone on Earth

Since the cruise ship did not offer much by way of activities and entertainment (see previous post), we resorted to going to the shopping talk for entertainment. Normally, these shopping talks are somewhat boring, but their constant references to jewelry as an "investment" cracks us up. This cruise was no exception.

We actually did learn something, though. We found out about this naturally-occurring stone, Alexandrite (http://www.palagems.com/alexandrite_russia.htm), that changes color from green to red depending on whether it is exposed to artificial light or sunlight. Sounds neat, right? We're naturally curious, so we went to check it out at the local jewelry shop at our next stop. It's cooler than they described. The jewelry store we visited took a big ring from inside the store and walked with us outside so we could see the transformation ourselves. Very fun.

The downside? It's just as expensive as a diamond. Ouch.