Judging quality
Genuine crystals are small, tabular to prismatic, and sit in rhyolite matrix. Any large clean 'red beryl' is almost certainly hydrothermal synthetic, which is legitimate but a fraction of the value.
Beryl
Red Beryl
One of the rarest gem minerals in existence, found in commercial quantity at a single Utah locality. Manganese gives it a raspberry red no other beryl reaches, and faceted stones over a carat are counted in the low hundreds worldwide.
Care
Durable, but so valuable that specimens are usually kept cased.
History & lore
It has been called bixbite, a name the trade has largely abandoned because of confusion with the mineral bixbyite.
Cultural history, recorded as tradition rather than as medical or scientific claim.
Common questions about Red Beryl
- What is Red Beryl?
- One of the rarest gem minerals in existence, found in commercial quantity at a single Utah locality. Manganese gives it a raspberry red no other beryl reaches, and faceted stones over a carat are counted in the low hundreds worldwide.
- How hard is Red Beryl and what is it made of?
- Red Beryl is a Beryl-family mineral with the composition Be3Al2Si6O18 (Mn-bearing). It crystallizes in the hexagonal system and rates 7.5-8 on the Mohs hardness scale. It occurs in red, pink-red, magenta.
- Where does Red Beryl come from?
- Notable localities for Red Beryl include Wah Wah Mountains, Utah, USA.
- How do you tell good Red Beryl from filler?
- Genuine crystals are small, tabular to prismatic, and sit in rhyolite matrix. Any large clean 'red beryl' is almost certainly hydrothermal synthetic, which is legitimate but a fraction of the value.
- How do you care for Red Beryl?
- Durable, but so valuable that specimens are usually kept cased.
Related stones
See it in person
Photographs only go so far
Both rooms are open six days a week, and there is always someone happy to pull pieces out of the case so you can compare them under the light.