Etched Morganite - Specimen

Locality: Afghanistan (exact locality unknown)

Morganite is the pink to orange-pink variety of beryl, the mineral that also includes emerald and aquamarine. Its colour comes from traces of manganese. Beryl is a beryllium aluminium silicate, Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈, with a hardness of 7.5 to 8, and it most often forms in granites and granite pegmatites alongside quartz, feldspar and mica.

After a new source of rose beryl was found in Madagascar, the gemmologist George F. Kunz proposed the name morganite on 5 December 1910 at a meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences. He named it for the financier J. P. Morgan, a major gem collector, in recognition of his support for the arts and sciences and his gifts of gem collections to museums in New York and Paris.

Kunz noted that morganite glows an intense cherry red under X-rays. Morganite is also strongly pleochroic, showing pale pink and deeper bluish pink in different directions, so gem cutters orient the rough carefully. One of the largest crystals ever found, the "Rose of Maine", came from the Bennet Quarry in Buckfield, Maine, in 1989 and weighed just over 50 pounds.

This one of a kind etched Morganite specimen from Afghanistan features a pale blush-pink colour with semi-translucent crystal growth and a broad, flattened form. Its surface shows natural etching, stepped faces, shallow recesses, and overlapping crystal sections that give the piece a rough, layered texture. Softer peach-pink areas run through the centre and lower edge, while lighter frosted sections around the top and sides add contrast and show the specimen’s natural growth pattern.

Morganite forms in granitic pegmatites, where slow cooling and high concentrations of volatile elements allow large crystals to develop. The pink coloration comes from trace amounts of manganese substituting into the beryl structure. Afghanistan is known for producing high-quality pegmatite minerals, and many specimens from this region show signs of natural chemical etching or partial dissolution, which happens when late-stage fluids alter the crystal after it has formed. That process gives pieces like this their softened edges and textured surfaces rather than sharp, pristine terminations.

In crystal traditions, morganite is associated with emotional balance, patience and compassion.

Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.