Morganite is beryl colored by traces of
manganese. Although violet and peach are possible colors, the most
common and preferred color is pink. Heat and light will remove the
yellow component from peach beryl so it is often heated to get
"pinker" stones. This gem entered the American market in 1911 when
Tiffany & Co. introduced it and named it in honor of J.P. Morgan.
Original deposits from Madagascar are now worked out, but Brazil,
Namibia and other locations produce rough. Growth tubes are a typical
inclusion in beryl and often seen in Morganite. Very often near
colorless specimens are offered as Morganite when they more properly
should be labeled Goshenite (colorless beryl). Although it takes a
larger stone to develop really good body color, smaller stones can be
very brilliant. Like most beryls, Morganite makes an excellent
jewelry stone requiring no special care.
Medium light to medium pink, clean stones with
custom cuts are the most valuable. Very light and included stones are
on the lower end of the value spectrum. As Morganite frequently
occurs in larger crystals, there is not the exponential increase in
price with size we see in so many gems. Paradoxically, smaller
Morganites (if they show good color) can be more valuable than larger
ones which often, in order show good color must be so large as to
limit their reasonable use in jewelry. As is the case with unheated
greenish blue aquamarine, there is a small but growing segment of
collectors who prefer the unheated peachy color and are willing to
pay a premium to get an unenhanced piece.