Beryl
Silicate · Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈ · also: Emerald, Aquamarine, Morganite
Beryl is a beryllium silicate whose gem varieties include emerald (green), aquamarine (blue) and morganite (pink), forming six-sided prisms.
What is beryl?
Beryl is beryllium aluminium silicate, colourless when pure but famous for its coloured gem varieties: green emerald, blue aquamarine, pink morganite and golden heliodor. It forms six-sided prismatic crystals in pegmatites, sometimes reaching enormous sizes, and is the main ore of beryllium.
Properties
- Chemical formula
- Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
- Category
- Silicate
- Hardness (Mohs)
- 7.5–8
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Lustre
- Vitreous
- Streak
- White
- Colour
- Green (emerald), blue (aquamarine), pink (morganite)
- Cleavage / fracture
- Imperfect
How to identify beryl
- →Six-sided prismatic crystals, often with flat ends.
- →Hardness 7.5–8: scratches quartz.
- →Green (emerald), blue-green (aquamarine) or pink (morganite).
- →Glassy lustre; found in granite pegmatites.
Where beryl is found
Emerald comes from Colombia and Zambia; aquamarine and morganite from Brazil, Pakistan and Madagascar.
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