Description
Morganite is a soft pink, sometimes violet, or even salmon-colored beryl named after the American banker and collector John Piermont Morgan Sr. This rare variety of beryl was only known by its own name in 1911, as were colored beryls from Russia, named after the Russian mineralogist V.J. Woroblev (Worobjevite). Morganite was found in the United States in the Ramona and Pala areas of California. It occurs with various tourmaline varieties. Morganite is also found near Norway, Maine. Important deposits are located in Brazil, primarily in the state of Minas Gerais. The stones from Maharita are strikingly pink and of very good quality. Cut stones weighing 500 carats have also been known. A small morganite figurine, measuring 11 cm x 6 cm, originates from a deposit in Anjanabonoina. The collection of the St. Petersburg Museum even includes a 598.5-carat cut stone and a 5-kilogram rough morganite from Madagascar. The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, holds faceted morganites ranging from 56 to 287 carats, and the Royal Museum in Toronto holds a 118.6-carat morganite. These stones all originate from Madagascar or Brazil. Other morganite deposits include Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, China, Russia (Urals), Italy (Elba), and Kazakhstan. The red beryl known as byxbite comes from the Wah Wah Mountain site in the United States. The stones cut from this site weigh no more than 10 carats.
