The mineral beryl is a beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate and the hexagonal crystals of beryl may be very small or range to several meters in size. It has a vitreous luster and can betransparent or translucent. Pure beryl is colorless, but it is frequently tinted by impurities; possible colors are green, blue, yellow, red, and white. The name comes from the Greek beryllos whichreferred to a precious blue-green color of sea water stone. The term was later adopted for the mineral beryl more exclusively.

Beryl varieties

Varieties of beryl have been considered gemstones since prehistoric times. Recognized for its beauty, in the Bible, in Ezekiel 1:16, the wheels of God's throne are described as having the appearanceof "gleaming beryl."Colorless beryl is called goshenite, pink beryl is morganite, red beryl is bixbite or "red emerald" or "scarlet emerald," clear bright yellow beryl is "golden beryl," yellow-green beryl is heliodor,green beryl is emerald, blue beryl is aquamarine, and deep blue beryl is maxixe. Red beryl is extremely rareand is not used in jewelry as the crystals it forms are very small; it is mined primarily in Utah. Blue beryl (aquamarine) will not fade in color whenexposed to sunlight. Maxixe is a deep blue stone that fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, though the color returns with irradiation. Other, unnamed shades suchas honey yellow are also known.