Inorganic Gemstones

Beryl


Properties
Chemical Composition: 
Beryllium Aluminium Silicate (Be3Al2(SiO3)6; Trace elements are Cr, V, Fe, Mn, etc.
Classification / Type: 
-
Colors / Varieties: 
  • Green - Emerald (Cr/V/Fe)
  • Green - Green Beryl (No Chromium)
  • Colorless - Goshenite
  • Blue - Aquamarine
  • Yellow - Yellow Beryl
  • Golden - Heliodor
  • Pink - Morganite
  • Red - Red Beryl
  • Deep blue (fading) - Maxixe Beryl
  • Chatoyant - Cat's eye beryl
  • Asteriated - Star beryl
  • Parti-colored beryl
  • Trapiche emerald - green with black spokes intersecting.
Crystal System / Forms: 
Hexagonal System / Generally as six-sided prisms with pyramidal and / or pinacoidal terminations. As such columnar prismatic habits are common.
Hardness: 
7.5 - 8
Specific Gravity: 
2.68 - 2.80
Cleavage / Fracture: 
Poor cleavage / parting parallel to the basal plane.
Optic Character: 
Anisotropic, D.R.; Uniaxial Negative.
Lustre: 
Vitreous.
Refractive Index / Birefringence: 
1.577 - 1.583 / 0.006 - 0.009. R.I. Range: 1.57 - 1.60
Pleochroism: 
Distinct dichroism depending on depth of color.
Dispersion: 
0.014
Magnification: 
Parallel two phase or rain inclusions, three phase and crystalline inclusions, fingerprints, hexagonal growth zoning.
U.V. Fluorescence: 
Variable.
Spectrum: 
  • Fading blue maxixe beryl: bands at 695nm & 655nm with weaker bands at 628nm, 615nm, 581nm and 550nm.
  • Green and yellow beryl, pink beryl: spectrum is not well pronounced.
Cause of Color: 
  • Green and yellow beryl: Fe %
  • Morganite: Mn with traces of cesium and rubidium. (Presence increases the physical and optical constants).
  • Maxixe blue beryl: unstable color center
Treatment (Enhancement): 
Specific Tests & Remarks: 
-
Synthesis: 
Flux fusion and hydrothermal method (not commercially available)
Simulants (with key separation tests): 
Yellow beryl: Citrine (optic figure, R.I.), Scapolite (R.I., birefringence, U.V. fluorescence, doubling), glass (optic character), hessonite garnet (R.I., S.G., inclusions), Topaz (R.I., S.G.), Labradorite (R.I., inclusions, U.V. fluorescence), Sillimanite (R.I., S.G., inclusions).
Geological Occurrence: 
Granitic rocks - pegmatite and schists, in hydrothermal veins and metamorphic limestone.
Sources: 
Morganite: Madagascar, U.S.A. (California, Utah), India (Orissa), Pakistan.
Cuts & Uses: 
Facetted cuts, cabochons, beads, carvings, etc.

Did you know?

Jewellery is one of the most bought products online. An estimated $1 billion USD of diamonds are bought annually via the Internet. Over 40 million people use the Internet to trade!

In Germany, the garland of ambers is hung around the necks of the infants, so that their teeth might come out without much trouble.

In Turkey, people fix a piece of amber in the hubble-bubble, dogged by an age old belief that the presence of the jewel would destroy all the germs and no disease would spread, even after many have dragged their puffs from it.

In Greece, people think if wine is poured into the cups made of amethyst, one does not get drunk after drinking that.

In Rome, a talisman having coral pieces is considered very auspicious to quell the bad spells of evil look. The Romans were in the habit of hanging chains made of ancient coral pieces from the cradle of the infants to protect them from evil effects.

In China, people wear rings studded with tiny conch or oyster shells as they believe it cures all aches such as stomach ache, worms and like.

In India, pendants made of silver and studded with pearls are hung from the necks of the children to save them from any bad effects.

Greeks still believe, if women wear blue sapphires then no sense of immorality would pollute their mind nor can any fear of the supernatural can trouble them.

The Pope Innocent III had circulated an order asking all the priests wear blue sapphire, so that morality can be strengthened.

It is said about turquoise, that when the stone changes its color into yellow, it actually signals bad times to the person who wears it.

It is believed that a turquoise gifted to a friend or a lover turns his or her life into one of happiness and good luck.

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