Meet the Beryl Family

Years back I happened on a beautiful gold ring. It had a raised setting with open scroll work all along the sides and the most eye catching beautiful emerald cut yellow stone. The color was uniform and nothing like I had seen before. It had no hues of orange or brown at all. It was yellow gone wild. That was the first time I saw a Yellow Beryl.

Everyone knows the Emerald; it is one of the most famous of the Beryl’s. The Emerald is the Green Beryl with the most perfect and sought after color.

Aquamarine is a beautiful blue stone and is also a Beryl. The rest of the Beryl’s are often just called Aquamarine for some reason. We often see strands of aquamarine rondelles in a colorful rainbow of pastel colors. That beautiful rainbow is the proud display of the entire Beryl family.

Morganite (Pink Beryl), Helidor (Yellow Beryl), Goshenite (Clear Beryl), Aquamarine (Blue Beryl) & Lastly Soft Green Beryl

Sweeter Than Cotton Candy!


I never ended up buying the ring. It was too many sizes too small for me, but now I wish I had at least taken a picture of it.
It was love at first sight with Beryl.

Is That Really A Sapphire?

It has always amused me how the gem industry comes up with the prettiest nicknames for some stones. Such as “Water Sapphires” (Iolite), “Green Onyx”, (Chalcedony) and my new favorite is “Evening Emerald” (see below).

As sweet and glamorous as they may sound though, if you’re not familiar with them they could end up being confusing, even misleading.

Here’s a picture example of the stone with the nickname and then the real McCoy shown in both gemstone and cabochon quality:

1- Sapphire quartz: Is it a Sapphire? No it’s Blue Chalcedony
2- Bohemian Ruby: Is it a Ruby? No it’s Red Garnet
3- Evening Emerald: Is it an Emerald? No it’s Peridot
4- Oregon Moonstone: Is it a Moonstone? No it’s White Chalcedony



It’s a little less amusing though when completely synthetic stones (resin, glass, plastic) are at times being referred to as “precious or semi precious”. Did you know that cherry quartz, pineapple quartz, tanzanite quartz, etc. are not mined stones at all? Don’t be swayed by the word quartz in the name, they are synthetic.
Don’t be shy to always ask your jeweler lots of questions before you buy a piece. Is this stone manmade or mined? Where is it mined? A well informed jeweler will always gladly share this info.