3 Things to Know About Red Beryl

Mysterious Red Gem

There is a little-known gem – “red emerald” also known as red beryl. Today, Normaltan Jewelry unveils its mystery to everyone.

Red varieties of this mineral are very rare. Although the exposure rate is not high, gem experts are very fond of it.

Beryl is a rare, single-origin gemstone that ranges in color from deep pink to light brown. The density is 2.80 g/cubic centimeter, and the chemical composition is Be3Al2(SiO3)6. The production areas mainly come from Pakistan, California in the United States, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Elba in Italy, Mozambique, and Namibia. Mohs hardness is 7.5-8.

Table of Contents

1.Beryl production

2.What is the difference between red beryl and morganite

3.It’s another name

Beryl production

According to the current output of the Violet mining area in the Wah-Wah Mountains, the annual output of red beryls of 1-2 carats is about 600, and those of 0.02-0.10 carats are more than 4,000. Measured from the total production of gemstones, beryl is extremely rare. Even for most, it is still an unfamiliar gem. And this crystals found in the United States and Mexico are too small to carve surfaces.

In addition to the factor of too small size, a large number of red beryls do not have gem attributes due to quality problems. According to GIA, about 10 percent of red beryl is faceted quality, and sometimes even less than 5 percent. Data show that beryl is one of the rare gemstones.

The reason why red beryl is rare is inseparable from its formation conditions. The formation of these red crystals requires large amounts of beryllium, manganese in a specific state, and the natural conditions that favor beryl crystals. The probability of such a complex combination occurring in nature is very low.

What is the difference between red beryl and morganite

Both of them are colored by manganese. The difference between the two is that morganite has a small amount of “cesium” and “rubidium” instead of manganese, making its color light pink, pink orange, and pink brown. In contrast, the content of manganese in red beryl is 20 times that of morganite, which causes the color of red beryl to be biased toward deep red.

Its another name

In addition to beryl and periclase, the name “red emerald” is easier to use. Although red emerald is only a nickname in the industry. As a subspecies of beryl, it is “brothers” with emerald, aquamarine, and morganite. Some experts believe that directly adopting the name “Emerald” is easy to deceive consumers. This view has been controversial in the industry.

Gem identification expert Mary Johnson analyzes the relationship between beryl and emerald. Including the similarity of the “formation process” of the two gemstones, color zoning patterns, physical characteristics, etc. The article even used words such as “color-blind gemologist” to refute this.

In this way, until the International Gem Association meeting in the 1990s, this gemstone was finally officially named red beryl (bixbite, periclase) after intense discussions. Gem experts are attracted not only by the its color, but also by its hexagonal crystal shape.

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