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Beryl

The mineral beryl is a beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be₃Al₂(SiO₃)₆. The hexagonal crystals of beryl may be very small or range to several meters in size. Terminated crystals are relatively rare. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, red, and white.

Blue to blue-green (aquamarine), dark blue beryl (irradiated), green (emerald), light green (green beryl), greenish yellow to golden yellow (heliodor), peachy pink (peach beryl), pink (morganite), red (red beryl), and colorless (goshenite).

Sourse: North and South America, Northern Europe, East Africa, South Africa, Himalayan Asia, and most notably, Colombia. The beryl family of gemstones is composed of emerald, aquamarine, morganite, heliodor, goshenite, and the rare bixbite (red beryl). These are some of the most valued of all colored gemstones.

Varieties:

Aquamarine and maxixe

Hardness

7.5 – 8.0.

Occurrence

It occurs at most localities which yield ordinary beryl, some of the finest coming from Russia. Brazil, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nigeria and Madagascar. In the United States, aquamarines can be found at the summit of Mt. Antero in the Sawatch Range in central Colorado. In Wyoming, aquamarine has been discovered in the Big Horn Mountains, near Powder River Pass. In Brazil, there are mines in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo, and Bahia, and minorly in Rio Grande do Norte. The Mines of Colombia, Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi, Tanzania and Kenya also produce aquamarine.

Appearance

Aquamarine is the blue, or blue-green type of beryl. Aquamarine and Bloodstone are the birthstones of the month of March. Clear yellow beryl, such as that occurring in Brazil, is sometimes called aquamarine chrysolite. When corundum presents the bluish tint of typical aquamarine, it is often termed Oriental aquamarine. The deep blue version of aquamarine is called maxixe. Its color fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, though the color returns with irradiation.

Enhancements

Aquamarine is usually heat treated to remove yellow components thereby producing a purer blue color.

The largest aquamarine of gemstone quality ever mined was found in Marambaia, Minas Gerais,Brazil, in 1910. It weighed over 110 kg, and its dimensions were 48.5 cm (19 in) long and 42 cm (17 in) in diameter

Morganite

Morganite, also known as “pink beryl”, “rose beryl”, “pink emerald”, and “cesian (or caesian) beryl”, is a rare light pink to rose-colored gem-quality variety of beryl. Orange/yellow varieties of morganite can also be found, and color banding is common. It can be routinely heat treated to remove patches of yellow and is occasionally treated by irradiation to improve its color. The pink color of morganite is attributed to Mn²⁺ ions

Pink beryl of fine color and good sizes was first discovered on an island on the coast of Madagascar in 1910 It was also known, with other gemstone minerals, such as tourmaline and kunzite, at Pala, California. In December 1910, the New York Academy of Sciences named the pink variety of beryl “morganite” after financier J. P. Morgan^.

Sourses: Madagascar,Brazil, Elba (Italy),Mozambique,Namibia,Zimbabwe(Rhodesia),Pakistan,U.S.(California)

On October 7, 1989, one of the largest gem morganite specimens ever uncovered, eventually called “The Rose of Maine,” was found at the Bennett Quarry in Buckfield, Maine,USA. The crystal, originally somewhat orange in hue, was 23 cm (9 in) long and about 30 cm (12 in) across, and weighed (along with its matrix) just over 50 lbs (23 kg).

Red beryl

Red beryl

Hardness

7.5.

Occurrence

Wah Wah mountains (Utah), Thomas range (Utah) andMexico. This is one of the rarest minerals. Gem quality material is found only at the Violet claims in the Wah Wah mountains. The mine there produces about one crystal per day. Of these, they are rarely cut into gemstones. Also known as bixbite, but that name is sometimes confused with bixbyite which is a manganese iron oxide.

Appearance

Light pink to a very attractive deep red with a hint of violet. The color of the stone depends on what part of the mine it was found. Like emerald, inclusions are very common in red beryl.

Prices for top quality natural red beryl can be as high as $10,000 per carat for faceted stones. Red beryl has been known to be confused with pezzottaite, also known as raspberry beryl or “raspberyl”, a gemstone that has been found in Madagascar and now Afghanistan – although cut gems of the two varieties can be distinguished from their difference in refractive index. While gem beryls are ordinarily found in pegmatites and certain metamorphic rocks, red beryl occurs in topaz-bearing rhyolites. It formed by crystallizing under low pressure and high temperature from a pneumatolitic phase along fractures or within near-surface miarolitic cavities of the rhyolite. Associated minerals include bixbyite, quartz, orthoclase, topaz, spessartine, pseudobrookite and hematite

Goshenite

Hardness

7.5 – 8.0.

Occurrence

North and South America, Northern Europe, East Africa, South Africa, Himalayan Asia, and most notably, Colombia. The beryl family of gemstones is composed of emerald, aquamarine, morganite, heliodor, goshenite, and the rare bixbite (red beryl). These are some of the most valued of all colored gemstones.

Colorless beryl is called goshenite. The name originates from Goshen, Massachusetts where it was originally discovered. Since all these color varieties are caused by impurities and pure beryl is colorless, it might be tempting to assume that goshenite is the purest variety of beryl. However, there are several elements that can act as inhibitors to color in beryl and so this assumption may not always be true. The name goshenite has been said to be on its way to extinction and yet it is still commonly used in the gemstone markets. Goshenite is found to some extent in almost all beryl localities. In the past, goshenite was used for manufacturing eyeglasses and lenses owing to its transparency. Nowadays, it is most commonly used for gemstone purposes and also considered as a source of beryllium.

The gem value of goshenite is relatively low. However, goshenite can be colored yellow, green, pink, blue and in intermediate colors by irradiating it with high-energy particles. The resulting color depends on the content of Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Fe, and Co impurities.

Golden beryl and heliodor

Hardness

7.5 – 8.0.

Occurrence

North and South America, Northern Europe, East Africa, South Africa, Himalayan Asia, and most notably,Colombia.

Appearance

Lemon yellow to golden in color. Yellow beryl is colored by iron, the golden variety by uranium oxide.

Golden beryl can range in colors from pale yellow to a brilliant gold. Unlike emerald, golden beryl has very few flaws. The term “golden beryl” is sometimes synonymous with heliodor ,but golden beryl refers to pure yellow or golden yellow shades, while heliodor refers to the greenish-yellow shades. The golden yellow color is attributed to Fe³⁺ ions.^[6][7] Both golden beryl and heliodor are used as gems. Probably the largest cut golden beryl is the flawless 2054 carat stone on display in the Hall of Gems, Washington, D.C

Emerald

Hardness

7.5 – 8.0.

Occurrence

Colombia, Brazil, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), South Africa, Ural mountains (Russia), Zambia, India, Tanzania, Pakistan, Australia, U.S. (Connecticut, Maine, North Carolina), Austria and Norway.

Appearance

Emerald refers to the green variety of beryl. There are however, gem quality green beryls which are not emeralds. All emeralds contain inclusions, which are evidence as to the genuineness of the stone. The name is derived from the Greek word Smaragdos, meaning “green stone”. Emerald is the birthstone of the month of May.

Enhancements

Emerald is usually treated with colorless oil, wax, or natural and synthetic resins into voids to improve appearance. Surface cavities of emerald is commonly filled with a hardened colorless substance. Emerald is also occasionally dyed with dye or colored oil.