Beryl

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The best blue, Aquamarine, comes from Brazil today, and can be found in very large, and very clean crystals. The color is caused by iron impurities, and it can be heat treated to enhance the color. It is more expensive than blue topaz, but far less expensive than emerald. Asterism is possible in aqua producing either cats-eye or even star stones.

The rarest beryl is bixbite (red) and is not usually seen in jewelry as it occurs in only very small crystals. The red color is due to manganese, and the best material comes from Utah.

Heliodor (yellow-green) is colored by uranium and is slightly radioactive. Yellow to yellow-orange samples are referred to as golden beryl. True Heliodor is valued by collectors but not seen much in jewelry, the golden beryls are seen often in jewelry but are not as expensive as aquamarine.

Morganite (pink) is one of the more expensive beryls and like virtually all good pink stones draws an excellent price, again not as expensive as emerald, but equal to the best aquamarine. It contains cesium and lithium, but the color agent is a trace of manganese.

Goshenite (clear-colorless) - often used with a metal foil to imitate emerald or aquamarine. Is not used extensively in jewelry and is not expensive.

• The greenish-yellow variety is called Heliodor. 
• The pink variety is called Morganite. 
• The colorless variety is called Goshenite. 

The name beryl is used for the red and golden varieties, which are simply called red beryl and golden beryl, respectively.

Beryl crystals may be enormous ! For example in Albany, Maine, a crystal was found 27 ft long and weighting 25 tons !

Largest emerald: 7025 ct, discovered 1969 Viennese treasury: jug 12 cm high, 2205 ct, cut from single emerald Largest cut crystal of aquamarine: (1910, Brazil) 243 lb (110.5 kg) =18" x 15.5" Emeralds can differ greatly in price and size Other

• "Mogul" emerald 217.8 ct 17th Century Colombian (taken to India)
• "Patricia" emerald, discovered 1920, sold in 1921 for US$60,000 (discoverer got US$10-)
• Of the beryl varieties, emerald is usually flawed, but aquamarine is usually flawless
• Beryl, an aluminosilicate mineral, is the principal ore of the rare element beryllium
• Long prized as various gemstones, notably the deep-green emerald, the pale blue green aquamarine, the pink morganite, and the golden heliodore, beryl is easily distinguished by its long, six sided prismatic crystals (hexagonal system) but also forms compact to coarsely granular masses
• The common material is whitish to green and is subtranslucent; gem material is transparent
• Luster vitreous. Most beryl is found in pegmatite dikes, where large crystals are intergrown with quartz and feldspar, but the emerald variety also occurs in altered limestone and in various metamorphic rocks
• Crystal size ranges from tiny to enormous. A crystal weighing 200 tons was mined in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and crystals about 6 m. (20 ft) long and 2 m (7 ft) across have been found in the Black Hills of South Dakota and in Albany, Maine.
• Common beryl has been mined for beryllium since 1925, notably in Brazil, the major producer.

Red Beryl was first noted in Utah in 1905, in the Thomas Range in Juab County, Utah. The small crystals were found in a rhyolite host rock and were translucent but rarely gemmy. It wasn't until the late 1950's that larger, better quality crystals were found in the Wah Wah Mountains in Beaver County. Consistent mining of the Red Beryl in the Wah Wah Mountains has only taken place since 1978.

Red Beryl occurs as hexagonal crystals which is typical of beryls. The refractive index is 1.564-1.574 and the specific gravity is 2.66-2.70. It's primary chemical composition is Be3Al2SiO3, but there are traces of many other elements. A more detailed examination including geological, chemical, physical and gemological information can be found in the magazine Gems and Gemology, Volume XX, Winter 1984.

Red Beryl is thought to have formed along fractures, in cavities or within the host rhyolite from a high-temperature gas or vapor phase released during the latter stages of cooling and crystallization of the rhyolite magma. Rhyolites ordinarily lack gem minerals and beryls of any sort is extremely uncommon, therefore the presence of Red Beryl suggests some unusual conditions for gemstone formation.

Red Beryl crystals range in color from orange-red to purplish-red with medium tones. The largest crystal yet recovered was 14mm x 34mm and weighed approximately 54 carats. The average faceted gemstone is .15 carats and the largest faceted gemstone to date weighed 8.0 carats.

Red Beryl description and images provided by Tim Schmanski.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:

• Color is varied and includes emerald green, blue to blue-green, yellow, greenish-gold, red, colorless and pink.
• Luster is vitreous.
• Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent.
• Crystal System is hexagonal; 6/m 2/m 2/m
• Crystal Habits typically include the hexagonal prism with pincoid terminations. The terminations are often modified by many different pyramidal faces which can sometimes produce a rounded termination in the rough shape of a used pencil eraser.
• Cleavage is imperfect in one direction (basal).
• Fracture is conchoidal.
• Hardness is 7.5 - 8.
• Specific Gravity is approximately 2.6 - 2.9 (average)
• Streak is white.
• Other Characteristics: Faces on large crystals are often pitted, striated lengthwise and rough.
• Associated Minerals include micas, quartz, euclase, calcite, tourmalines and some feldspars.
• Notable Occurances include Colombia and some African localities for emerald; Brazil, Russia and Pakistan for aquamarine; California, Brazil, Africa, and many other localities for other beryls.
• Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, lack of good cleavage, hardness and color.