$10,000.00

Size:
0.8" x 0.5" x 0.3"


Shipping weight:
0.7 pounds


Condition:
Excellent
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Here's a large, extremely sharply formed, double terminated crystal of gemmy red beryl (bixbite), with 4 small crystals growing out of it. The main crystal is highly lustrous, with a deep purplish violet, raspberry red color. One of the terminations is about 70% complete, and the other is roughly 30% there. There is no damage to this pristine, gemmy, highly lustrous group of red beryl crystals. I had a gem cutter look at this crystal, to see what he thought.  He's cut many other red beryls. including a recent 5.05ct stone, so he knows what he is talking about. His guess is that it would yield a 3ct +/- stone in a shallow emerald cut.  We can arrange cutting if you want.

Click on the photos for enlarged view

Click on the photos for enlarged view

RED BERYL (BIXBITE) is the rarest form of beryl, and is usually colored an attractive ruby-magenta color. This specimen comes from the world famous Ruby Violet Claim, in the Wah Wah Mountains in the East Thomas Range, Utah. Unfortunately, the mine is closed, and is now for sale. I'm hoping that a specimen miner will come along and buy it and reopen it. Meanwhile, there are a dwindling number of crystals available in the owner's inventory, so it is getting more and more expensive to buy really good specimens.

This crystal is a new arrival which we recently received direct from the mine owner's collection. It is one of the best red beryl crystals ever recovered from this celebrated mine, which is the only known locality for gem quality red beryl. This piece came to us as part of a parcel of 17 crystals, including some of the largest ones ever found. These are all for sale, so please feel free to contact us if you are interested in acquiring one of these gem crystals for your collection.

Beryl is often unknown to the general public, even the gemstone-buying public. However, it is one of the most important gem minerals. Beryl is colorless in pure form; it is the many different impurities that give beryl its varied coloration. Without these splendid color varieties, beryl would be a rather ordinary gemstone with only average fire and brilliance. Emerald is the green variety and Aquamarine is the blue variety of beryl.

Other colors of beryl are also used as gemstones but are not as well known. The greenish-yellow variety is called Heliodor. The pink variety is called Morganite. The colorless variety is called Goshenite. The name beryl is used for the red and golden varieties, which are simply called red beryl and golden beryl, respectively.

Red Beryl is the rarest form of beryl - rarer even than emeralds and aquamarines. The only crystals suitable for faceting are found in the Wah Wah Mountains (the Ruby Violet Claims), near Beaver, Utah. Currently, this is the only place in the world where gem quality Red Beryl is found.

Red Beryl was first noted in Utah in 1905, in the Thomas Range in Juab County, Utah. The small crystals were found in a rhyolite host rock and were translucent but rarely gemmy. It wasn't until the late 1950's that larger, better quality crystals were found in the Wah Wah Mountains in Beaver County. Consistent mining of the Red Beryl in the Wah Wah Mountains has only taken place since 1978.

Red Beryl occurs as hexagonal crystals which is typical of beryls. The refractive index is 1.564-1.574 and the specific gravity is 2.66-2.70. It's primary chemical composition is Be3Al2SiO3, but there are traces of many other elements. A more detailed examination including geological, chemical, physical and gemological information can be found in the magazine Gems and Gemology, Volume XX, Winter 1984.

Red Beryl is thought to have formed along fractures, in cavities or within the host rhyolite from a high-temperature gas or vapor phase released during the latter stages of cooling and crystallization of the rhyolite magma. Rhyolites ordinarily lack gem minerals and beryls of any sort is extremely uncommon, therefore the presence of Red Beryl suggests some unusual conditions for gemstone formation.

Red Beryl crystals range in color from orange-red to purplish-red with medium tones. The largest crystal yet recovered was 14mm x 34mm and weighed approximately 54 carats. The average faceted gemstone is .15 carats and the largest faceted gemstone to date weighed 8.0 carats.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BERYL:
Color is varied and includes emerald green, blue to blue-green, yellow, greenish-gold, red, colorless and pink.
Luster is vitreous.
Transparency: Crystals are transparent to translucent.
Crystal System is hexagonal; 6/m 2/m 2/m
Crystal Habits typically include the hexagonal prism with pincoid terminations. The terminations are often modified by many different pyramidal faces which can sometimes produce a rounded termination in the rough shape of a used pencil eraser.
Cleavage is imperfect in one direction (basal).
Fracture is conchoidal.
Hardness is 7.5 - 8.
Specific Gravity is approximately 2.6 - 2.9 (average)
Streak is white.
Other Characteristics: Faces on large crystals are often pitted, striated lengthwise and rough.
Notable Occurrences include Colombia and some African localities for emerald; Brazil, Russia and Pakistan for aquamarine; California, Brazil, Africa, and many other localities for other beryls.
Best Field Indicators are crystal habit, lack of good cleavage, hardness and color.

People interested in metaphysics and crystal healing tell us that beryl is a stone of courage. It enhances ones ability for rapid intellectual response and encourages the ability to be prepared. It helps one to attune to more spiritual levels of awareness and provides intellectual stability.

Every specimen comes with our label, giving the full mineral name plus accurate locality information

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We are an award-winning, internationally known internet mineral dealer with an impeccable reputation for high quality mineral specimens, fast, friendly service, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee on all sales. Our mission is to bring joy into the lives of our mineral collecting customers by helping them build high-quality collections of gemstones, crystals, minerals and rocks. To do this, we offer a wide variety of the finest crystals including loose gemstones for sale, large crystal clusters for sale, pyrite nuggets for sale, aquamarine gemstones for sale, and quartz crystals for sale. You can come to us to buy clear quartz crystals, black tourmaline rough, phantom quartz crystals, raw amethyst crystals, amethyst quartz crystal geodes, gemstones for jewelry, and mineral specimens and crystals. Not only are we the best place to buy gemstones, we also provide gem and mineral information, facts about rocks and minerals, we help our customers identify rocks and minerals, and we report on the major rock and mineral shows. Also, you can read about us on Bob's Rock Shop, Mindat, and many other fine websites.