Red beryl

Red beryl was discovered in 1904 by Maynard Bixby in the Wah Wah mountains in Utah.[5] In 1912 the gem was named bixbite by Alfred Eppler after Maynard Bixby.[6] The old synonym "bixbite" is deprecated, since it can cause confusion with the mineral bixbyite.[7]

The greatest concentration of gem-grade red beryl comes from the Ruby-Violet Claim in the Wah Wah Mountains of mid-western Utah, discovered in 1958 by Lamar Hodges, of Fillmore, Utah, while he was prospecting for uranium.[8] This claim was bought by Denise Knoeller as part of Red Emerald Inc. in 2020.[9]

Gem-quality red beryl have only been found in the Wah Wah mountains[10]

Red beryl is very rare and has been reported only from a handful of locations: Wah Wah Mountains, Paramount Canyon, Round Mountain and Juab County, all in the south-western United States.[11][12] The narrow geographic range suggests that the specific conditions needed for its formation do not occur frequently. This gem is a thousand times rarer than gold.[6]

The Utah Geological Survey estimated that one red beryl is found for every 150,000 diamonds.[1] According to Gemmological Association of Great Britain a 2 carat red beryl is as rare as a 40 carat diamond.[13]

Red beryl is valued roughly the same price or higher than emerald[12] despite being a hundred times rarer. Its rarity has made it less popular but red beryl crystals that are over 1 carat can sell for US$20,000.[2]^: 123 In 2008, one carat could sell for US$5000 or more.[2]

Limited geographical occurrence means that the Red Emerald Inc controlled world production of natural red beryl as of 2021 [9]

The dark red color of red beryl is attributed to Mn³⁺ ions.[14] Red beryl rough crystals can be easily distinguished by hexagonal crystal systems. This gem has been known to be confused with pezzottaite, a caesium analog of beryl, that has been found in Madagascar and more recently Afghanistan; cut gems of the two varieties can be distinguished from their difference in refractive index.[15] Red beryl is similar to emerald and dissimilar to other beryls in that it has inclusions like feathers and fractures. Some mineral inclusions include quartz, feldspar, hematite, and bixbyite.[13]

Chemistry

Arrangement of coordination complexes forming the hexagonal structure of the beryl crystal.

The hexagonal crystal system found in beryls are formed of AlO₆ octahedra, as well as BeO₄ and SiO₄ tetrahedra.[16] The hexagonal chanels of red beryl are primarily unoccupied and no detectable water has been found within Red beryl gets its color from natural chemical doping, whereby Mn³⁺O₆ replaces AlO₆ at certain positions.[17] The deep color Mn³⁺O₆ may be in part explained by the Jahn-Teller effect on spin disallowed transitions.[17]

While gem beryls are ordinarily found in pegmatites and certain metamorphic rock, red beryl forms in topaz-bearing rhyolites.[18] It is formed by crystallizing under low pressure and high temperature from a pneumatolytic phase along fractures or within near-surface miarolitic cavities of the rhyolite. Associated minerals include bixbyite, quartz, orthoclase, topaz, spessartine, pseudobrookite and hematite.[19] Synthetic red beryl is produced using hydrothermal process similar to that used for emeralds, however cobalt and manganese are used as dopants to produce a dark red gem.[20]