Beryl var. Aquamarine

Object/Artifact

-

Crater Rock Museum

Name/Title

Beryl var. Aquamarine

Entry/Object ID

2009.62.196

Description

Description: Common Name: Beryl var. Aquamarine Group Name: Silicate Chemistry: Be3 (Fe)3 Al2(SiO3)6, Beryllium Aluminum Silicate Class: Silicates Subclass: Cyclosilicates PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Color is varied and includes emerald green, blue to blue-green, yellow, greenish-gold, red, colorless and pink. Luster is vitreous. Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent. Crystal System is hexagonal; 6/m 2/m 2/m Crystal Habits typically include the hexagonal prism with pincoid terminations. The terminations are often modified by many different pyramidal faces which can sometimes produce a rounded termination in the rough shape of a used pencil eraser. Cleavage: is imperfect in one direction (basal). Fracture: conchoidal. Hardness: 7.5 - 8. Specific Gravity: is approximately 2.6 - 2.9 (average) Streak is white. Other Characteristics: Faces on large crystals are often pitted, striated lengthwise and rough. Associated Minerals: include micas, quartz, euclase, calcite, tourmalines and some feldspars. Best Field Indicators: are crystal habit, lack of good cleavage, hardness and color. Occurrence: Occurs in and embedded in pegmatites, attached in druses in pegmatites, in mica schists and hydrothermal calcite veins. Variety: Aquamarine is the blue, or perhaps more correctly, blue-green or aqua variety of the mineral beryl. Aquamarine is colored by trace amounts of iron. Most gem aquamarines have been heat treated to produce the popular blue-green colors from less desirable yellow or pale stones. Aquamarine is sometimes found in huge crystals (unlike emerald). It is also known in a glassy form, often without showing crystal form, and sometimes with many holes or other odd shapes. Other times a large cluster of prismatic crystals can be seen to all have the same alignment - a sign that it is really a single crystal with many faces.

Collection

RAGM Mineral Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2009.62

Source or Donor

Museum Collection of Minerals

Acquisition Method

Donation

Location

Location

Display Case

FS-3

Room

Frieda Smith Hall

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Category

Exhibit

Moved By

Ian C.

Date

January 29, 2025

Notes

Major mineral groups installation

Location

Display Case

FS-5

Room

Frieda Smith Hall

Building

Crater Rock Museum

Date

January 3, 2024