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Morganite

beryl

Pink beryl, named in 1911 for J. P. People carry it for love, self-love and grief. Tradition attaches it to the element water, the heart chakra, Venus. It is most often given to Libra, Taurus, Pisces. It measures 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale.

Seen · you don't have this one yet

Uncommon

Almost all commercial morganite is heat-treated at around 400 °C to remove yellow-orange tones and leave a purer pink. The result is permanent, stable and undetectable. Irradiation is also used on some material.

Mineral facts

Hardness

7.5-8 Mohs

Formula

Be3Al2Si6O18 with Mn

Family

silicate

Where it comes from

Brazil (Minas Gerais), Madagascar, Afghanistan, Mozambique, Namibia, USA (California, Maine)

What it is

Pink beryl, named in 1911 for J.P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. Manganese does the colouring and a kiln does the finishing. It became genuinely fashionable in the 2010s as a rose-gold engagement stone, which is why so much of it is now in circulation.

What it is confused with

kunzite, rose-quartz, pink-topaz, pink-glass, dyed-quartz, pink-sapphire

Transparent pale pink-to-peach in flat tabular hexagonal crystals, morganite characteristically grows as squat plates rather than long prisms, which distinguishes it from aquamarine's elongated habit. Colour is soft, slightly grey-peach and rarely saturated. Shows beryl's parallel hollow tube inclusions and a bright vitreous luster. Distinctly harder than any pink quartz and far more transparent than rose quartz.

Commonly faked · check before you buy

How to tell

Hardness 7.5, 8 and true transparency separate it from rose quartz (7, hazy) and from glass. Kunzite is softer, strongly pleochroic and has two flat cleavage directions at ~87°; morganite has no obvious cleavage and forms flat hexagonal plates.

Almost all commercial morganite is heat-treated at around 400 °C to remove yellow-orange tones and leave a purer pink. The result is permanent, stable and undetectable. Irradiation is also used on some material.

What it means for you

The Moon is at 1° Scorpio today. Morganite is a silicate, 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale, and it is the stone traditionally carried when the problem is proximity rather than intensity.

You know what this one would do for you. You just don't have it.

Morganite for every sign

Aries

Manganese does the colour and a kiln finishes it.

Named in 1911 for J. P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. Manganese does the colour and a kiln finishes it. That is true of almost every stone in circulation, and the 2010s made it an engagement stone, which is why there is so much about.

Taurus

Named in 1911 for J. P. Morgan.

Pink beryl, coloured by manganese and finished in a kiln at 400 degrees, which is true of almost every stone in circulation. Named in 1911 for J. P. Morgan. It became fashionable as a rose-gold engagement stone in the 2010s, which is why so much of it is about now.

Gemini

He bought minerals fast enough to get things named after him.

Named in 1911 for the banker John Pierpont Morgan, who was buying minerals fast enough to get things named after him. Manganese gives the pink and a 400 degree kiln takes the orange out, permanently and undetectably. It grows in squat hexagonal plates where aquamarine grows long prisms.

Cancer

Every attribution attached to it is under a century old.

Pink beryl coloured by manganese and finished in a 400 degree kiln to pull the orange out. It became a rose-gold engagement stone in the 2010s, which is why there is suddenly so much of it about. Every attribution attached to it was written in the last hundred years.

Leo

He bought minerals at a scale that got things named after him.

Named in 1911 for J.P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. Manganese supplies the pink and a kiln finishes it at around 400 degrees, permanently and undetectably. It grows as squat hexagonal plates rather than aquamarine's long prisms.

Virgo

Manganese supplies the pink and a kiln removes the orange.

Named in 1911 for J.P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. Manganese supplies the pink and a kiln near 400 degrees removes the orange. It grows as squat hexagonal plates rather than long prisms, which is where it parts company with aquamarine.

Libra

A kiln removes the orange that nobody wanted.

Pink beryl, named in 1911 for J.P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a rate that got things named after him. Manganese supplies the colour and a 400 degree kiln removes the orange nobody wanted. It became an engagement stone in the 2010s, which is why there is so much of it about.

Scorpio

Manganese starts the colour and a kiln finishes it.

Pink beryl, named in 1911 for J.P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. Manganese starts the colour and a 400 degree kiln finishes it, permanently and undetectably. It went mainstream as a rose-gold engagement stone in the 2010s.

Sagittarius

Manganese does the colouring and a kiln does the finishing.

Pink beryl, named in 1911 for J.P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. Manganese does the colouring and a kiln does the finishing. It became an engagement stone in the 2010s, which is why there is suddenly so much of it about.

Capricorn

Manganese does the colour. A kiln does the finishing.

Pink beryl, named in 1911 for J. P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. Manganese does the colour and a kiln does the finishing, permanently and undetectably. It became an engagement stone in the 2010s, which is why there is suddenly so much of it about.

Aquarius

The pink you like was a decision.

Named in 1911 for J.P. Morgan, who was buying minerals at a scale that got things named after him. It grows as squat hexagonal plates rather than aquamarine's long prisms, and nearly all of it has been heated near 400 degrees to strip the orange out. The pink you like was a decision.

Pisces

Grief that has settled rather than grief still moving.

Nearly all of it went through a kiln at around 400 degrees to strip the orange out and leave a cleaner pink. It grows in squat hexagonal plates rather than long prisms. The lore attaches it to grief that has settled rather than grief still moving, which is a distinction worth keeping.

Correspondences

What tradition attaches to this stone. Folklore, not chemistry.

Element

water

Planet

Venus

Chakra

heart

Signs

libra, taurus, pisces, cancer

What tradition says

In crystal lore, morganite is associated with even-tempered love and with grief that has settled rather than grief that is raw; the attributions are entirely twentieth-century.

Care

  • Water is fine. Dry it afterwards.
  • Hard and durable; heat-treated colour is stable. Warm soapy water. Avoid ultrasonics on fractured pieces.

Beryllium-bearing; safe as a solid stone, hazardous only as respirable dust from cutting.

Common questions

What does morganite mean?

Morganite is carried for love, self-love and grief. Pink beryl, named in 1911 for J.. Tradition links it to the heart chakra.

Is morganite real or fake?

Almost all commercial morganite is heat-treated at around 400 °C to remove yellow-orange tones and leave a purer pink. The result is permanent, stable and undetectable.. Hardness 7. 5, 8 and true transparency separate it from rose quartz (7, hazy) and from glass.. Almost all commercial morganite is heat-treated at around 400 °C to remove yellow-orange tones and leave a purer pink.

Can morganite go in water?

A short rinse is fine for morganite, then dry it.

Uncommon · peachy pink, salmon, pale rose, violet-pink

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