Beryl is a mineral and, in certain varieties, a valuable gem material. Beryl is often unknown to the general public, even the gemstone buying public. It is a mineral composed of aluminum cyclosilicate and beryllium. Beryl is a common crystal and is shaped like a six-sided prism. The main varieties of beryl gems are emerald (green) and aquamarine (blue). Beryl is the main mineral of Beryllium, which is used in transistors.
Pure beryl is colorless, but is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, red and white. The blue beryl is called aquamarine and has an iron color, the green beryl is called an emerald and has a chrome color. Golden beryl is greenish-yellow in color and is called heliodor, pink beryl is called morganite. Green, emerald beryl tends to be infested with inclusions. Red beryl is the most precious type of beryl. Red beryl is extremely rare (more rare than emeralds, according to some reports). Blue beryl is quite interesting because its color fades on exposure to sunlight.
Beryl is the birthstone for March, with a hardness of 7. Beryl is most often found in granite pegmatites. Chemically, beryl is Be3 Al2 Si6 O18. The beryl group minerals are beryllium aluminum silicates, which have the chemical formula Be3Al2(SiO3)6. Beryl is found in the form of barrel-shaped crystals. The rarest beryl is bixbite (red) and is not usually seen in jewelry as it is only found in very small crystals. Beryl is a beryllium aluminum silicate that crystallizes in the hexagonal system. The Golden Beryl gem quality is mined in Brazil, Virginia and Madagascar.
Emerald is the green variety of the mineral beryl. Pliny, the Roman scholar, was the first to suggest that the emerald was a member of the beryl family. Of all the beryls, the emerald is the second rarest, the only beryl that is more valuable and rarer than an emerald is the red beryl (bixbite). The emerald is colored green by traces of chrome and sometimes iron. Emerald (and all forms of beryl) have large, perfect, six-sided crystals. Hydrothermal and flow-growth synthetics have been produced and a method for producing emerald overgrowth in colorless beryl has been developed.
Colombian emeralds are universally accepted as the finest emeralds in the world. It is the Colombian emeralds against which all others are judged. However, many Colombian emeralds are mined to the lowest possible grade, especially the very light colored ones (sometimes called green beryl). Native peoples worked in the Colombian emerald mines long before they were taken over by the Spanish in 1537. During the 16th century, large quantities of Colombian emeralds entered the European market. The Colombian emerald industry has, on average, 60% of the world market.
Aquamarine, named for the Latin phrase “water of the sea,” is a blue to blue-green variety of the mineral beryl. Legends say that aquamarine (beryl) is the treasure of mermaids, with the power to keep sailors safe at sea. Aquamarine is one of several common gemstones that belong to the beryl group of minerals. Aquamarine is a member of the important beryl family, which includes emerald, but aquamarine is less brittle and more durable than emerald. The color of the aquamarine is due to traces of iron impurities in the beryl structure. Aquamarine is found in Brazil, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria, and other countries.
Heliodor is a golden to greenish-yellow variety of beryl. Heliodor is named after the Greek words for sun “Helios” and don “doron”. Heliodor was discovered in Namibia in 1910 on a pegmatite that also produced aquamarine, which is also colored by iron. The heliodor or yellow beryl is much more common than its brothers the aquamarine or the emerald.
Morganite is a member of the beryl family named after one of the world’s wealthiest bankers and gemstone enthusiast, J. Morganite is the pink, peach, or lilac variety of the mineral beryl. Colors range from pale to quite good, but all morganite is pale. The pink color of morganite is due to trace manganese impurities in the beryl structure. Perhaps the highlight of the Bennett gemstone story was the discovery of the ‘Rose of Maine’, a massive morganite beryl, by Dennis and Ron Holden.
Bixbite (also known as red beryl, red emerald, or scarlet emerald) is a red variety of beryl (emerald), Be3(Al,Mn)2Si6O18. Bixbite is named for Maynard Bixby, who cataloged the minerals of Utah; however, this is not a scientifically recognized type of beryl. The “red emerald”, also known as bixbite or red beryl, is one of the hardest stones on earth to find, and also one of the hardest to cut. Bixbite, a form of beryl, is found in silica-rich volcanic rocks known as topaz-bearing rhyolites.
Goshenite is the transparent, colorless, alkaline pure beryl that was discovered in Goshen, Hampshire County, and Massachusetts. Goshenite is often used as a replacement for more valuable colorless gems. Goshenite is usually found together with colored beryls, although it is not as popular.
