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Gemological Facts About Pink Emeralds

Each gemstone we sell, regardless of price or quality, has full gemological data provided. All our gemstones are graded by a GIA certified gemologist, the most respected gemological laboratory in the world.

The chemical composition of a Pink Emerald is : Be3Al2Si6O18
"Beryllium-Aluminum Silicate"

Coloring agents for all Beryl are minute amounts of metallic oxides. For Pink Beryl or Pink Emerald it is: Mn (manganese). Red emerald and Pink Emerald are both beryllium aluminum silicates colored by manganese plus 3 and chromium, among other things. The Soft Pink to Violet Beryl is also called Pink Beryl.

The word brilliance is probably derived from the ancient Greek word for beryl, berullos, which means crystal.

The Chemical composition of beryl is beryllium (14%) aluminum (19%) silicate (67%), usually containing alkali ions, other minerals, water, and gases. It crystallizes in hexagonal shapes in the dihexagonal-dipyramidal class, sometimes in well formed hexagonal prisms with pinacoidal (flat) terminations. Beryl melts to liquid at about 1475 C. The hardness is 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale, and the Specific Gravity ranges from 2.66-2.83.

Older names for the Pink Emerald crystal include Vorobievite, Worobieffite and Rosterite, though the majority of references use the mineral term, Pink Beryl or Morganite.

Color Availability:
Refractive Index:
Chemical Composition:
Hardness:
Density:
Crystal Group:

Pink - Very Light Pink
1.577(+-.016), 1.583 (+-.017)
Be3Al2(SiO3)6
7.5-8
2.72 (-.05, +.12)
Hexagonal
Chemical Formula: Be3Al2Si6O18
Composition: Molecular Weight = 537.50 gm
 
Berylium
Aluminum
Silicon
Oxygen		 5.03
10.04
31.35
53.58
______
100.00		 %
%
%
%
 
%		 Be
Al
Si
O		 13.96
18.97
67.07
 
______
100.00		 %
%
%
 
 
%		 BeO
Al2O3
SiO2
Empirical Formula: Be3Al2Si6O18
Environment: Mainly granitic pegmatites.
Name Origin: From the ancient Greek, beryllos, signifying a "precious stone”, but through later usage, applied only to beryl.
Physical Properties:
Cleavage:
Color:
Density:
Diaphaniety:
Fracture:
 
Habits:
 
 
Hardness:
Luminescence:
Luster:
Streak: 		[0001] Imperfect
pink.
2.63 - 2.9, Average = 2.76
Transparent to subtranslucent
Brittle - Conchoidal - Very brittle fracture producing small, conchoidal fragments.
Crystalline - Coarse - Occurs as well-formed coarse sized crystals., Prismatic - Crystals Shaped like Slender Prisms (e.g. tourmaline)., Columnar - Forms columns
7.5-8
Non-fluorescent.
Vitreous - Resinous
white
Optical Properties:
Dichroism (e):
Dichroism (w):
Gladstone-Dale:
 
Optical Data: 		[yellowish green, colorless, or colorless.
pink.
CI meas= 0.008 (Superior) - where the CI = (1-KPDmeas/KC)CI calc= -0.039 (Excellent) - where the CI = (1-KPDcalc/KC)KPDcalc= 0.2205,KPDmeas= 0.2106,KC= 0.2123
Uniaxial (-), e=1.564-1.595, w=1.568-1.602, bire=0.0040-0.0070.
Classification:
Dana Class:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Strunz Class: 		61.1.1.1 (61) Cyclosilicate Six-Membered Rings
(61.1) with [Si6O18] rings; possible (OH) and Al substitution
(61.1.1) Beryl group
 
61.1.1.1 Beryl Be3Al2Si6O18 P6/mmc 6/m 2/m 2/m
61.1.1.2 Bazzite Be3(Sc,Al)2Si6O18 P6/mcc 6/m 2/m 2/m
61.1.1.3 Indialite Mg2Al4Si5O18 P6/mcc 6/m 2/m 2/m
61.1.1.4 Stoppaniite! (Fe,Al,Mg)4(Na,[])2[Be6Si12O36]·2(H2O) P6/mmc 6/m 2/m 2/m
 
 VIII/E.12-10 VIII - Silicates
VIII/E - Cyklosilicates, six rings [Si6O18]12-
VIII/E.12 - Beryl series
 
VIII/E.12-10 Beryl Be3Al2Si6O18 P6/mmc 6/m 2/m 2/m
VIII/E.12-20 Bazzite Be3(Sc,Al)2Si6O18 P6/mcc 6/m 2/m 2/m
VIII/E.12-25 Stoppaniite! (Fe,Al,Mg)4(Na,[])2[Be6Si12O36]·2(H2O) P6/mmc 6/m 2/m 2/m
VIII/E.12-30 Indialite Mg2Al4Si5O18 P6/mcc 6/m 2/m 2/m
VIII/E.12-40 Cordierite Mg2Al4Si5O18 Cccm 2/m 2/m 2/m
VIII/E.12-50 Sekaninaite (Fe,Mg)2Al4Si5O18 Cccm 2/m 2/m 2/m
 
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