Gemstone Glossary

Chrysoberyl

The stone of springtime, youth and innocence, the name Chrysoberyl is derived from the Greek for golden (Chryso) and green gemstone (beryl). When cut, Chrysoberyl is an extremely brilliant stone, ideal for everyday wear and is rapidly gaining in popularity amongst fashionable young designers.

Said to bring peace of mind and increase self-confidence, Chrysoberyl also promotes kindness, generosity, benevolence, hope, optimism, renewal, new beginnings, compassion and forgiveness.

Unlike its high-priced cousin Alexandrite, regular Chrysoberyl is very reasonably priced and exceptionally tough (8.5 on the Moh's Scale of Hardness), producing some extremely durable gems. Chrysoberyl is found in a variety of locations around the world including: Brazil, Burma, India, Sri Lanka, Russia, the Ural Mountains & Zimbabwe.


Ordinary transparent Chrysoberyl is most often yellow, yellowish green, or brown in color. The color in yellow Chrysoberyl is due to iron (Fe+3) impurities. When well cut, it produces bright, durable gems that are attractive and affordable.

Cat's-eye Chrysoberyl is a translucent gem ranging in color from a honey yellow or honey brown to yellowish green to an apple green. It is known for its reflected light effect called "chatoyancy." This is achieved by cutting stones that have very small, parallel "silk" inclusions into cabochons. As the gem is rotated, it exhibits a distinct, silvery white line across its dome that seems to open and close like a cat's eye.

The most desired stones are brilliant yellows, greens and occasionally oranges. The browner a Chrysoberyl is, the less valuable. Faceted stones over 10 carats are rare, over 20 carats extremely hard to obtain, and clean stones over 30 carats are museum pieces.

Fine cat's-eyes may be yellow, yellowish green, or golden brown. In the finest qualities, the gems will be semi-transparent and they will exhibit a sharp white eye. As you turn the stone around, the eye will move. The best cat's-eyes also exhibit a "milk and honey effect," when the stone is rotated, one side of the stone appears transparent, as the other side takes on a creamy appearance. In large cat's-eyes, the milk and honey effect is an important consideration in valuing the stone.