What is Morganite?

There are so many beautiful semi-precious gemstones that are affordable and make a lovely gift for someone special. Wouldn't you love to unwrap a lovely jewelry box or trinket box with a fabulous semi-precious stone set just for you? Read on to learn more about the gorgeous Morganite.

The beautiful stone called Morganite is a gemstone from the beryl family of stones. The best known beryl gemstones are the Emerald and the Aquamarine but the Morganite is just as beautiful.  It was first discovered on an island on the coast of Madagascar in 1910 and the New York acadamy of sciences named it after American banker and gem collector, JP Morgan.

The Morganite gem is known for its pink color which women around the world just love since many gems don't come in this shade of pink.  Colors range from a light pink to soft peach. When shopping for Morganite, you will find this semi-precious gemstone set in fine sterling silver, gold, and platinum and sometimes in stainless steel settings. No matter how it is set, it will be a stunning piece that will surely be admired by many.

Morganite is a strong and hearty gemstone coming in on the hardness scale from 7.5 to 8.0 so it is one of the perfect gems for jewelry making. The majority of this stone is mined in Brazil, Afghanistan, Madagascar and you can find it being mined in the United States in certain parts of California. The largest gem morganite specimens ever uncovered were found in Maine, weighing just over 50 lbs.

When wearing Morganite jewelry you want to take some care with wearing it by not wearing it while bathing, showering, swimming, washing your hands or while cleaning. You want to protect it from chemicals, cosmetics and other harmful things found in our environment.

To clean your Morganite gemstone jewelry you will want to use a professional jewelry cleaner or take it to you jeweler for cleaning. You can use a soft jeweler's cleaning cloth to polish the metal that your gemstone is set into but take great care not to rub too hard so that you don't loosen the stone from it's setting.

If pink is perfect for you, you'll love Morganite!

by Jasmine Yesak, Contributing Editor at ChasingTreasure.com, online retailer of quality jewelry boxes, jewelry organizers and watch boxes. Jasmine is a Jewelry Enthusiast and Organization Consultant, she writes about Jewelry Care and Jewelry Storage Tips.