Morganite

Coloured by manganese impurities, the pink, rose, peach and violet varieties of beryl are called morganite after the American banker and gem enthusiast, J. Pierpoint Morgan. Morganite tends to occur as short and stubby (tabular) prisms and is dichroic showing either two shades of the body colour, or one shade and colourless.

The first morganite to be described was a pale rose-coloured specimen from California (USA), where it occurred with tourmaline. Some of the finest morganite is from Madagascar; Brazil produces pure pink crystals, as well as some containing aquamarine and morganite in the same crystal. Other localities include Elba (Italy), Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Pakistan (recently discovered).

Stones with a yellow or orange tinge may be heat-treated for a purer pink.