Morganite
COLOR RANGE
Slightly yellowish orange, to orange, to orangy pink, to pink, to slightly purplish pink.
HARDNESS & TOUGHNESS
Hardness: 7.5 to 8 Toughness: Good
MAJOR SOURCES
Afghanistan, Brazil, Madagascar, USA
Morganite is the pink to orange-pink variety of beryl, a mineral that includes emerald and aquamarine. It is a beryllium aluminum silicate colored with a trace amount of manganese. The stone was named after the American banker and gem lover, J. P. Morgan, shortly after it was first discovered in 1902 in the Malagasy Republic (Madagascar). Fine examples are currently found in Minas Gerais, Brazil and Madagascar.
Morganite has a color that ranges from slightly yellowish orange, to orange, to orangy pink, to pink, to slightly purplish pink. This color range appeals to many people and has an attractive appearance in rose gold jewelry mountings, which have also grown in popularity. Light-colored morganites are often treated with heat or irradiation to increase its color saturation. These treatments make the gems more appealing and marketable. As morganite frequently occurs in larger crystals, there is no exponential increase in price with size. Paradoxically, smaller morganites, if they show good color, can be more valuable than larger ones.
