Beryl
Species
Rare · Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
A beryllium aluminium silicate, found mostly in granites and granite pegmatites, where single crystals can reach many metres. Pure beryl is colourless; trace elements produce aquamarine, emerald, heliodor, and morganite varieties.
Identity
- Formula
- Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
- Chemical class
- Silicate
- Varieties
- Aquamarine, Emerald
- Also known as
- Aquamarine (blue), Heliodor (yellow), Morganite (pink), Goshenite (colorless)
Crystallography
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Habits
- Prismatic, Columnar, Tabular
- Fracture
- Conchoidal
Physical properties
- Mohs hardness
- 7.5
- Density
- 2.72 g/cm³
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Colors
- blue, blue-green, yellow, pink, colorless, red
- Streak
- white
- Transparency
- Transparent, Translucent
Geology
- Origins
- Igneous, Hydrothermal, Metamorphic
- Host rocks
- Granite, Schist and gneiss
- Associated minerals
- Quartz, Tourmaline, feldspar, lepidolite
- Found in
- Pegmatite, Pegmatite deposit
- Geography
- Brazil, Colombia, Madagascar, Pakistan, Russia
Classification
- Rarity
- Rare
- Gem quality
- Yes
Arcane properties
- Affinity
- Water, Air
- Effects
- Scrying, Mind
- Planar origin
- Material Plane
Sources
- M. Pasero and others, IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification, The New IMA List of Minerals, updated September 2026. International Mineralogical Association (CNMNC), 2026.
- Beryl. Mindat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
- J. W. Anthony, R. A. Bideaux, K. W. Bladh, M. C. Nichols, Beryl. Mineral Data Publishing, Handbook of Mineralogy, 2001.
- Beryl. Gemdat.org (Hudson Institute of Mineralogy).
Browse the Crystal Encyclopedia — MGS Toolbox