All in the Beryl Jewelry Family
Even gemstones have their own families. Though a gem may not be born into one, it is formed geologically. The scientific method for classifying an individual gem is similar to that used for classifications of plants and animals. The starting point is to broadly group minerals according to their chemical composition. For example, these include borates, sulfates, halides, oxides and silicates, to name a few.
Aquamarine is a silicate, as are emerald, heliodor, morganite, bixbite and goshenite and hundreds more. Furthermore, these above-mentioned gemstones, along with many others, are members of the cyclosilicate subclass of minerals. This subclass is not based upon chemical composition, but as the prefix “cyclo” implies, it has more to do with the way the chemical components are arranged. This is where things can get complicated in a hurry, but to simplify, let’s just say that members of the beryl family form rings (cyclo) that result in hexagonally shaped crystals.
So the top levels of mineralogical classification depend upon general chemical make up and crystalline structure. As we move to the next level, which is commonly referred to as the family of gems, we see that all members can be described by the same chemical name. For example all beryls can be expressed chemically as Be3Al2(Si6O18), Where the element berrylium is the distinguishing component that separates these from all other silicates.
Within the beryl family, then, each member is referred to as a variety. This means that aquamarine, emerald, morganite and heliodore are varieties of beryl. What distinguishes each is its color. Aquamarine’s blue results from traces of iron being thrown into the mix. Similarly each of the other members of the beryl family have trace elements that give them their colors.
