Morganite is a pink/purple stone in the Beryl family. It was first discovered in Madagascar in 1910. In thefirst decade of the twentieth century, several new gemstone varieties were discovered in Pala, California. They include Kunzite, the pink variety of Spodumene; and Morganite, the pink variety of Beryl. Kunzite is named after the famous American gemologist, George Frederick Kunz, who spent most of his career as the chief gemologist at Tiffany & Co. Morganite was named in honor of the legendary financier and gem collector, J.P. Morgan. In fact it was Kunz who suggested naming the newly discovered Beryl after Morgan, who was Tiffany's largest customer.
Morganite belongs to the same gemstone family as Emerald, Aquamarine, Golden Beryl and Bixbite. Among these Beryls, Morganite and the raspberry-red Bixbite are the rarest. In fact, Bixbite is only found in the state of Utah in the USA. Morganite is not quite as scarce, but still counts as a rare variety. There has been some attempt in the jewelry trade to change the name of Morganite to "pink Emerald." Some scientists attribute Morganite's color to traces of Manganese, while other sources attribute the color to the element Caesium. Morganite's color can vary soft pink to violet to salmon or peach. Morganite deposits are found in Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and the USA (California and Maine). Morganite in contemporary stone lore is associated with increasing calm and deeper meditative states.
