Q: Can you tell me something about this beautiful ring? I thought it was alexandrite but was told it is corundum and was made around 1880-1910. It is in a rose gold setting marked 14kt, 585, 111 and also has a tiny boat mark. It is fuchsia under indoor lights and changes to blue outside.
A: Corundum is sometimes called "Mexican alexandrite." It is a gem mineral made in the lab by flame fusion, a process developed by Auguste Victor Louis Verneuil in 1893. The number "585" was used in Europe and indicates that the piece is 585 parts gold to 1000 parts, approximately the equivalent of 14kt gold (583 parts gold). The style of your ring suggests that it was made in a Scandinavian country in the 1950s. It is too modern to be a 19th-century piece. Mexican alexandrite rings set in gold sell in Mexico today for about $150.
