History & Introduction
Morganite is the pink to purplish-pink shade belonging to the Beryl group. Morganite
was initially recognized in 1910, and was named by George F. Kunz in honour of J.P.
(John Pierpont) Morgan the banker and financier. Morgan was an avid collector of
gemstones.
It is a rare enough that the stone is more famous as the collector's type of gemstone.
While it is not a common gemstone, however the gemstone is much in demand because
of the light colour. Morganite normally comes in soft pink, however warmer salmon
pink tones are also common in this gemstone. It is coloured by very small traces
of the element manganese that gets incorporate in the crystal structure. To remove
the salmon or orangey tone sometimes Morganite is treated with little heat spreading
the light pink colour.
Morganite comes in the light pink to violet-pink variety of beryl. Pink morganite
is many times referred as a 'pink emerald'. Just like the emerald, even morganite
is linked to blue aquamarine, golden beryl (heliodor), colourless goshenite and
the rare red bixbite. In case of beryls, morganite is considered as the rarest forms,
next to red bixbite only.
Pink morganite was first identified in California, USA, in 1910. At first, it was
simply referred to as 'pink beryl'.
Recognise - Morganite is an aluminum beryllium silicate. The colour
of the stone ranges from pale pink to violet, salmon or peach. As compare to other
beryls, even morganite too has very good hardness. The refractive index is 1.562
to 1.602. Morganite is slightly denser than other beryls at 2.71 to 2.90. Morganite
is considered to be clean, unlike emerald which tends to be heavily included. In
most cases, it is easily distinguished from other pink stones by its brilliance
and lustre, combined with its hardness, durability and excellent clarity.
Availability - Morganite can be found in many locations around
the world. The two most important sources of morganite are found in Brazil and Madagascar.
Other sources for fine gem-quality morganite include Afghanistan, Madagascar, China,
Namibia, Russia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and the USA (California and Maine).
Usages - The colour of morganite makes it look very good in white
gold settings. Due to its hardness morganite is hard enough for most jewellery except
rings which are worn every day. In an everyday ring setting, the gem will get worn
and scratched over an extended period of time. Morganites are considered to be very
good fine in rings which are worn only on special occasions.
Buying Guide
Colour - When selecting a morganite gemstone, the colour is by
far the most important criterion. Morganite ranges in colour from violet-pink, pale
pink to pink, peach, peachy-pink, or salmon colour. Its colour is thought to be
owed to traces of manganese or cesium. Morganite is hardly comes in bright or intense
colour; maximum stones are very pale or pastel colour. Large stones will typically
exhibit stronger colours. A pure pink morganite is considered to be in high demand,
but more recently, peachy and salmon colour stones have been in very high demand.
A rare magenta colour morganite is also found from Madagascar and it is highly sought
after by collectors
Clarity and Lustre - Morganite occurs with excellent transparency
and it rarely forms with inclusions, this rises in expectation of eye-clean stones.
Morganite gives an attractive vitreous lustre when cut and polished.
Cut and Shape - Morganite is faceted naturally to maximize its
colour and brilliance. With its blurry cleavage, cutters should orient the stone
properly to reduce the cleavage. It is considered to be the rarer materials that
gives the effect of cat's eye are cut en cabochon on regular basis in order to best
exhibit desirable effects. Morganite is regularly cut into ovals, rounds, cushions
and pears, as well as trillions briolettes and hearts.
Treatment - Frequently, morganite is found unheated and unenhanced.
Still there are many stones these days may be are routinely heat treated to improve
colour and remove unwanted yellow tones. Comparatively at a lower temperature heating
is done (about 400 degrees centigrade) to achieve this effect.
Gemmological Characteristics: