Morganite

Like many pegmatite gems, morganite can form large crystals; miners in Brazil have found crystals of about 10 kg. Most morganite on the market comes from pegmatite mines in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Afghanistan, Mozambique, Namibia and the United States (California, Maine) have been minor and inconsistent sources. The original Madagascar deposit is only a minor producer today but still sets the standard for magenta-coloured rough.

Morganite shows distinct pleochroism, pale pink and a deeper bluish pink, and may contain liquid inclusions with gas bubbles; faceted stones usually have no eye-visible inclusions. Heat and light remove the yellow component of peach beryl, so morganite is often heated to get pinker stones; it is occasionally irradiated, but that colour fades in light. Hydrothermally grown synthetic morganite is sold, so a laboratory is needed to confirm natural origin. Calling morganite "pink emerald" is incorrect: it is a different variety of beryl.

Morganite free of inclusions or fractures may be cleaned with mechanical systems, but have a gemologist check a stone for weaknesses first. A soft brush, mild detergent and warm water are always safe.

After a new locality for rose beryl was discovered in Madagascar in 1910, George Kunz proposed the name morganite at a meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences on 5 December 1910, honouring the financier J. P. Morgan for his support of the arts and sciences and his gifts of gems to museums in New York and Paris. Tiffany & Co. then introduced the gem to the American market. One of the largest specimens, the roughly 23 by 30 cm "Rose of Maine", was found at the Bennett Quarry in Buckfield, Maine, on 7 October 1989.