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Beryl (var. heliodor)
Greg Polley
Specimen | Catalog Number | Locality | Weight |
---|---|---|---|
Beryl | NMNH G10535 | Tajikistan | 56.50 ct |
Beryl | NMNH G10534 | Tajikistan | 30.72 ct |
Gift of Mr. David A. Brackna in 2007.
The mineral beryl occurs in many colors. The best known gem varieties are the deep-green emerald and the sea-blue aquamarine. However, beryl is also found in shades of pink (morganite), red, and yellow (heliodor), and in some cases is colorless (goshenite). The heliodor gems shown here are from Tajikistan and exhibit a deeply saturated golden-yellow color. The gems were faceted by award winning gemcutter David Brackna. The 56.62 carat heliodor is a skewed lozenge cut; the 30.70 carat gem is faceted in a Turkish star having the effect of facets reflecting off of each other. These are beautiful examples of heliodors from a locality not previously represented in the National Gem Collection.