Morganite

Pale peach beryl, clear where rose quartz stays cloudy.

Hold a strand up to a window and the color reads like the blush on a peach, pale pink leaning warm. It is quiet color, never loud. What makes people reach for it is the clarity: small glassy windows between the facets, light going in and coming back out again. Set it next to rose quartz and the difference is plain. The quartz is pinker and hazy all through. Morganite is beryl, first cousin to aquamarine, and it wears like one.

Where it comes from

Morganite is a beryl, the same mineral family as emerald and aquamarine, and its pink to orange-pink comes from traces of manganese. When a new source of rose beryl was found in Madagascar in 1910, George Frederick Kunz proposed the name morganite, after the financier J. P. Morgan, himself a keen collector of gems. Tiffany & Co. brought the stone to the American market. It grows in lithia pegmatites as squat tabular crystals, sometimes banded blue near the base and peach at the terminations, and those pockets can be generous: miners in Brazil have found crystals as heavy as 22 pounds. Most morganite on the market still comes from the pegmatite mines of Minas Gerais. The bead rough we see is Brazilian, Mozambican and Nigerian. Since 2010 it has become the second most popular colored center stone for engagement rings, after sapphire.

What tradition says

In crystal tradition morganite is spoken of as a stone of compassion, and that one word carries most of what folklore attaches to it. People who keep such stones describe it as gentle rather than forceful, and many prefer to wear it against the skin through the day rather than leave it in a drawer. Much of the belief seems to follow the color itself, which is soft and warm and does not push. As gem lore goes, this is a young tradition. The stone was not named until 1910, so the stories told about it have had only a century to gather, and they are still mostly about kindness.

These are beliefs people have held about the stone, told as tradition. They are not claims, and not advice.

How makers use it

We carry morganite at 6mm in two cuts, smooth tubes and faceted rondelles, both good sizes for bracelets that get worn every day. The tubes sit flat and give a clean line of color; the rondelles catch more light at the facet edges. Both like rose gold, and they read well in bridal and blush palettes, or as a step up from rose quartz for someone who wants the same soft pink with more life in it. A stronger strand shows soft peach-pink with real transparency, glassy luster, and crisp facets rather than a milky look. Strands come by the 16 inches, or by the 8.

Looking after it

Morganite is hard enough for daily wear, between 7.5 and 8 on the Mohs scale. Wash it in warm soapy water with a soft brush; an ultrasonic is usually safe. The one real caution is light. Long hours in strong sun can pale the color, so store your pieces in a drawer or pouch.

Sources: What Is Morganite Gemstone | Morganite Stone – GIA, Morganite, Morganite: The orange to pink gem with growing popularity, Morganite Value, Price, and Jewelry Information - Gem Society