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Beryl

A transparent to translucent glassy mineral, essentially aluminum beryllium silicate, Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈, occurring in hexagonal prisms and constituting the chief source of beryllium.

Transparent varieties in white, green, blue, yellow, or pink are valued as gems.

Beryl is a translucent glassy mineral, essentially aluminum beryllium silicate, occurring in hexagonal prisms and constituting the chief source of beryllium. Beryl derives its name from the ancient Greek word "berullos" meaning crystal. The name Beryl as such originally is rooted in India. Based on the Sanskrit word "veruliyam", came the Greek word "beryllos". The beryl varieties get their rich colors and hues due to the different coloring elements. Aquamarine, Emerald and Morganite are all Beryls - just like Golden Beryl, gold-green Heliodor and colorless Goshenite. No matter whether blue, green, yellow, colorless or pink, their chemical and physical consistence is basically identical, they only differ in color.

Beryls are popular gemstones with high brilliance and hardness of 7.5. The hexagonal crystal structure Beryls with usually vertically striped surfaces are found in the South America, Middle and Western Africa, Madagascar, Russia, Ukraine.

The sea-blue color of beryl comes due to iron and is the known as most popular gemstones, aquamarine. Emerald is a valuable beryl that owes its color to chromium or vanadium, which make it show the maybe most beautiful and brightest green of all respective gemstones coining a class all by itself, emerald-green. Manganese lends a soft pink, rose or peach color to the stone that is called Morganite. Small traces of uranium are sufficient to lend colorless beryl a more or less satiated golden color - typical characteristic of Golden Beryl. Iron and uranium in combination are responsible for the fresh and invigorating green-yellow of another beryl variety, of Heliodor. Goshenite is the colorless beryl that is found in Goshen in Massachusetts, USA.

Rarely in tabular crystals; the pink cesium-bearing beryls are more likely to develop this flat habit. Beryl comprise a whole range of attractive varieties, two of which are more familiar under their specific names. These are the rich greenemerald and the paler green or blueaquamarine. There are in addition golden heliodor, pink morganite and colorless goshenite. Beryl is allochromatic and may therefore be found in almost any color. It is one of the lighter gemstones, usually with good transparency, fairly widely distributed but by no means common since beryllium is a rare element. Its lustre is vitreous and it takes an excellent polish. A considerable hardness helps it to withstand wear.

Also massive and embedded as grains or columnar masses. Before 1925 beryl was used only as a gemstone, but since then many important uses have been found for beryllium (e.g., in nuclear reactors, space vehicles, and X-ray tubes). No large deposits have been found, and most production is a by-product of the mining of feldspar and mica. Brazil is a major producer; others include Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, and the U.S. Beryl was traditionally recommended for curing throat or liver disorders. It was also said to preserve wedded love and to be a good medium for magical vision.

Several varieties are valued as gemstones: aquamarine (pale blue-green); emerald (deep green); heliodor (golden yellow); and morganite (pink). See also: Turquoise.

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