DigMyGem Gem encyclopedia

Green Beryl

Natural Faceted Gems

Green beryl is pale or weakly saturated green beryl that falls outside the color range generally called emerald. The boundary is a gem-trade judgment rather than a separate mineral species; both share beryl's hexagonal structure and beryllium aluminium silicate composition.

Identity

Material or variety
Beryl
Scientific or material identity
Beryl
Classification
Natural mineral or mineral variety
Composition or formula
Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
Crystal system or structure
Hexagonal
Geological or manufacturing origin
Forms from silica- or mineral-rich fluids in cavities and fractures.
Mohs hardness
7.5 to 8
Specific gravity
2.63 to 2.92

Origins

Brazil · Madagascar · Pakistan · Ukraine

Appearance & optical properties

pale green transparent beryl.

History & discovery

The word beryl passed into English through Latin and Greek names for blue-green stones, with older roots in South Asia. Modern gemologists use graded color comparisons because experts still differ over how dark and saturated green beryl must be before it is called emerald.

Uses & care

Common uses
Transparent green beryl is faceted for rings, pendants, earrings, and other jewelry, while attractive hexagonal crystals are preserved and collected as mineral specimens.
Handling and cleaning
Use warm soapy water and protect the stone from scratches, hard knocks, and strong heat. Avoid ultrasonic or steam cleaning when a stone contains fractures or liquid inclusions.

Jewellery

6 pieces of Green Beryl jewellery. Learners earn each one in DigMyGem by learning words; until then it shows as a silhouette.

  • Silhouette of Vladimir Tiara

    Vladimir Tiara

    Tiara

    A diamond tiara made by Bolin in 1874 and later fitted by Queen Mary with fifteen large cabochon Cambridge emeralds that can replace its drop pearls. It passed to Elizabeth II and is one of the best-known emerald tiaras.

  • Silhouette of Gachala Emerald

    Gachala Emerald

    Jewel

    An 858-carat Colombian emerald found in 1967, one of the largest in the world, given by Harry Winston to the Smithsonian. It is displayed as a single uncut crystal.

    Photograph of Gachala Emerald
    Photo: thisisbossi, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Silhouette of Meadow Glass Pendant

    Meadow Glass Pendant

    Pendant

    An imagined pendant of clear pale green beryl cut as a long drop, set so light passes through like a meadow after rain.

  • Silhouette of Bahia Emerald

    Bahia Emerald

    Jewel

    A gigantic rough emerald crystal of about 341 kg found in Bahia, Brazil, in 2001; its ownership was long disputed and it is valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • Silhouette of Maharaja of Indore Necklace

    Maharaja of Indore Necklace

    Necklace

    A diamond and emerald necklace once owned by the Maharaja of Indore and renamed by Harry Winston the Spanish Inquisition Necklace, now at the Smithsonian; its emeralds were mined in Colombia.

  • Silhouette of Atocha Star Emerald

    Atocha Star Emerald

    Jewel

    A 400-year-old emerald recovered by Mel Fisher from the Spanish galleon Atocha in 1985, cut to 12.72 carats and the highest-graded of the wreck's emeralds.

Sources