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| Aquamarine
is named from Latin meaning sea water for
its color. The name Beryl is possibly named from the Greek
word beryllos which referred to a number of blue-green stones in antiquity
but was later used for the entire Beryl Group of
minerals.
| Discovery:
Prehistoric;
IMA
status: Not Valid (a variety of Beryl) |
|
Chemistry
|
|
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Chemical
Formula: |
Be3Al2Si6O18
+ Fe |
|
Beryllium
Aluminum
Silicate + Iron |
Molecular
Weight: |
537.50 gm
|
Composition: |
Beryllium |
5.03 % |
Be |
13.96 % |
BeO |
|
Aluminum |
10.04 % |
Al |
18.97 % |
Al2O3 |
|
Silicon |
31.35 % |
Si |
67.07 % |
SiO2 |
|
Oxygen |
53.58 % |
O |
|
|
|
|
100.00 % |
|
100.00 % |
= TOTAL OXIDE |
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Classification
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Mineral
Classification: |
Silicates (Germanates)
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Strunz 8th
Ed. ID:
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8/E.12-10
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Nickel-Strunz 10th
Ed. ID:
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9.CJ.05
|
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9 : SILICATES (Germanates)
C : Cyclosilicates J :
[Si6O18]12- 6-membered single rings
(sechser-Einfachringe), without insular complex anions
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Related
to: |
Beryl
Group. Beryl
Series.
|
Members
of Group: |
Beryl
Group: Bazzite, Beryl, Pezzottaite, Stoppaniite
|
Varieties: |
Aeroides,
Alkali-beryl, Améthiste Basaltine (of Egleston), Aquamarine,
Emerald, Goshenite, Heliodor, Maxixe-Aquamarine, Morganite,
Pachea, Red Beryl (Bixbite), Riesling Beryl, Vorobyevite
|
Synonyms: |
Berylite,
Berylle, Berylls
|
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Crystal
Data
|
|
|
Crystallography:
|
Hexagonal - Dihexagonal Dipyramidal
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Crystal
Habit:
|
Crystals
prismatic to tabular, with {1010}, {0001}, and {1120};
may be complexly terminated by pyramids, to 18 m and
180 t. Also radial, trapiche, columnar; granular to
compact.
|
Twinning:
|
Rarely
|
|
|
Physical
Properties
|
|
|
Cleavage: |
Imperfect
on {0001}
|
Fracture: |
Conchoidal
|
Tenacity:
|
Brittle
|
Moh's
Hardness: |
7.5
- 8.0
|
Density:
|
2.66
- 2.80 (g/cm3)
|
Luminescence:
|
None
|
Radioactivity:
|
Not
Radioactive
|
|
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Optical
Properties
|
|
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Color: |
Various
shades of pale Blue to Blue-Green; Colorless in thin
section |
Transparency: |
Transparent
to Translucent |
Luster: |
Vitreous,
Resinous |
Refractive
Index: |
1.567 - 1.590
Uniaxial ( - ) |
Birefringence: |
0.005 - 0.007
|
Dispersion: |
0.014 (low)
|
Pleochroism: |
Weak
to distinct; O
= colorless, yellowish green, light blue, yellowish
red; E
= sea-green, blue
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Occurances
|
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Geological
Setting: |
In
granites and granite pegmatites, rarely in nepheline
syenites. Also in mafic metamorphic rocks, low- to high-temperature
hydrothermal veins. |
Common
Associations: |
Quartz,
Feldspar, Muscovite, Lepidolite, Spodumene, Amblygonite,
Tourmaline, Topaz, Cassiterite, Columbite, Tantalite.
|
Common
Impurities: |
Fe,
Mn, Mg, Ca, Cr, Na, Li, Cs, O, H, OH, H2O,
K, Rb |
Type
Locality: |
Unknown
(prehistoric) |
Year
Discovered: |
Prehistoric
|
View
mineral photos: |
Aquamarine
Mineral Photos and Locations |
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More
Information
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Mindat.org
(Aquamarine) Mindat.org
(Beryl) Webmineral.com
(Beryl) |
|
|
Aquamarine
is the blue to blue-green variety of the Beryl Group of minerals that also
includes Bixbite
(red), Emerald
(green), Goshenite
(colorless), Heliodor
(yellow), Morganite
(pink) and Pezzottaite
(reddish pink). Very large Aquamarine crystals have been found
including the famous Martha Rocha crystal, found in
Brazil, that weighed 134 pounds and yeilded 300,000
carats of excellent blue gems! Aquamarine gets its blue-green
color from traces of ferrous iron added to the
basic Beryl formula. Aquamarine is the birthstone
for March.
Aquamarine
is known from many sources worldwide including Afghanistan;
Australia; Minas Gerais and other locations in Brazil;
more than fifty specific locations in Madagascar; Myanmar
(Burma); Namibia; Pakistan; Russia; Sri Lanka; and in
the USA at San Diego County, California; Mt. Antero,
Colorado; Connecticut; Maine; and North Carolina.
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Aquamarine
gems for sale:
We
have not photographed our Aquamarine gems yet. Please
check back soon!
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