Gemstone Glossary

Morganite

Morganite is famous for its pink or rose-lilac color and nice luster. First discovered in Madagascar in 1911, Morganite was named after the American banker and gem enthusiast, John Pierpont Morgan. Legend has it that he met a watery grave on the Titanic, but he actually missed the doomed maiden voyage and died the following year in Rome, just shy of his 76th birthday.


Morganite is actually a variety of Beryl and is sometimes called ‘Pink Beryl’. A group of many beautiful and important gemstone varieties including Emerald and Aquamarine, Beryl in its pure form is colorless or yellow. It is mineral inclusions that give the different varieties of Beryl their varied coloration. Beryl would be a very ordinary gemstone without these magnificent color varieties. Its pink variety, Morganite is colored by trace amounts of manganese that find their way into the crystal structure. It has excellent fire. Unfortunately, it is very rare, especially flawless specimens.

Morganite is found in Madagascar, Brazil and various parts of the U.S.A. The first-discovered deposit yielded material that still sets the standard for the best Morganite in the world. It displayed a bright purplish-pink color unseen in the current Brazilian material.

Morganite is almost always heat-treated to produce or enhance the pink color. Lower quality Morganite occurs in colors ranging from a peach-orange to a pinkish-yellow. Once heat-treated, its color changes to a beautiful soft pink. The heat treatment Morganite undergoes is stable and does not degrade under ultraviolet light. However, some collectors actually value the untreated material above the treated pink form.

Morganite is commonly found as squat, tabular crystals that closely resemble Rose Quartz. The difference lies in the luster. Morganite that is facetted in the correct way is much more lustrous than Rose Quartz.

Morganite’s hardness ranks 7.5 to 8.0 on the Moh’s Scale. It is actually tougher than its famous cousins.

With its luster, nice color and hardness, Morganite is immensely suitable as a jewelry stone. It is simply its rareness that has prevented this beautiful gem achieving greater popularity.