Red Beryl, Searle Canyon Red Beryl Mine, Thomas Range, Juab County, Utah
A striking, deeply translucent, doubly terminated red beryl presenting interpenetrating crystals on both terminations, an extremely unusual occurrence. Not only is red beryl very rare, with only three known localities in the US, but finding such interpenetrating twins is rarer still. The smaller, very gemmy crystals are comprised of a triplet - all demonstrating the only known twin geometry! The crystals are complete all around, but for one bird with sharp edgework and textbook habit. Faces are lustrous, with en-echelon hexagonal impressions. Images have been backlit to highlight internal structure and translucency. This piece, along with a vanishingly few others, was extracted from a pocket on October 4th, 2024 by miner Frank Stalling. The specimen comes with a certificate of authenticity. This specimen is a true collector’s item.
About red beryl: Gem-quality red beryl is estimated to be worth 1,000 times more than gold and is so rare that one red beryl crystal is found for every 150,000 diamonds. Red beryl formation began in the Thomas Range of Utah with the eruption of a topaz rhyolite lava from volcanic vents. As the lava began to cool, shrinkage cracks formed, creating pathways for high-temperature gases rich in beryllium to escape. Oxidized surface water also began seeping into these cracks and mixed with the rising beryllium gases. The gases reacted with the surface water, silica, alkali feldspar, and iron manganese oxides from the lava to form red beryl crystals. Red beryl probably grew at temperatures between 300 to 650 degrees Celsius. The crystals in the Thomas Range are associated with topaz, bixbyite, garnet, pseudobrookite, or hematite.
Reference: Utah Geological Survey, Survey Notes, v. 34 no. 3, September 2002, Author: Carl Ege
Dimensions: 7 x 6 x 4 mm.
