Beryl is a beryllium aluminum silicate that crystallizes in characteristic hexagonal prisms, often with prominent vertical striations. While common beryl is opaque and used as an ore, gem-quality varieties such as emerald and aquamarine are highly prized by collectors for their intense, characteristic colors.
Spotting beryl in the field
Field marks- 1
Six-sided prisms, often with flat ends rather than points
- 2
Hardness 7.5 to 8, harder than quartz, so it scratches a quartz crystal
- 3
Glassy luster, and a slightly greasy feel on weathered faces
Beryl is the parent of aquamarine, emerald, morganite and heliodor, and in the field it usually turns up as pale green or yellowish opaque prisms that are easy to walk past. The flat-terminated hexagonal prism is the shape to look for, and it is harder than quartz, which is a quick and decisive field test. Look in granite pegmatites, especially near the contact zones and in pocket clay. Common beryl crystals can be very large, occasionally over a foot, while gem material sits in pockets.
Straight answers
- Is it worth cutting?
- Facets well but is brittle. Emerald in particular is heavily included and fragile, which is why it is almost always cut in a protective rectangular step cut.
- What is it really worth?
- Common opaque beryl is nearly worthless. Gem varieties range from moderate for morganite and heliodor up to very high for fine emerald.
- Can you legally keep it?
- Depends on the locality. Many American pegmatites are on national forest land with personal-use collecting allowed, and many are claimed.
Often confused with
Beryl vs. its common look-alikes, and how to tell them apart in the field.
How to tell apart: Apatite is also hexagonal but is much softer at 5, so a knife marks it easily. Beryl at 7.5 to 8 will not take a steel scratch.
How to tell apart: Quartz prisms end in a six-faced point. Beryl usually ends flat, and beryl scratches quartz.
Often found alongside beryl
Minerals reported to co-occur with beryl. Spotting these in float or country rock is a strong cue you are in the right ground.
All properties
- Chemical formula
- Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈
- Mohs hardness
- 7.5-8
- Density
- 2.63-2.90 g/cm³
- Streak
- White
- Luster
- Vitreous
- Transparency
- Transparent
- Crystal system
- Hexagonal
- Crystal habit
- Prismatic Crystals with Flat Terminations
- Cleavage
- Poor Basal
- Rarity
- Common
- Uses
- Gemstone, Collector, Industrial Ore
- Host rock
- Granite Pegmatites, Hydrothermal Veins, Metamorphic Schists
- Typical price
- $10-100 for common crystals, thousands for high-quality gemstone varieties
Where rockhounds find beryl
112 mapped spotsClassic worldwide localities
- Colombia
- Brazil
- Pakistan
- Madagascar
- United States
U.S. states with beryl
Each link opens a state-specific list of mapped rockhounding spots that produce beryl.
- North Carolina14 spots
- Maine12 spots
- Connecticut11 spots
- New Hampshire11 spots
- Georgia10 spots
- Utah8 spots
- Massachusetts7 spots
- Colorado6 spots
Field-hunting tip
Look in granite pegmatites, hydrothermal veins, metamorphic schists country, the host setting where beryl typically forms. If you start seeing quartz, feldspar, mica in float, you are in the right ground. Field specimens usually show a prismatic crystals with flat terminations habit, so train your eye for that shape before scanning the outcrop. In the U.S., the densest reported localities are in North Carolina, Maine, Connecticut. Start trip planning there.
Common questions
How do you identify beryl?+
Where is beryl found?+
Can I find beryl in the United States?+
How much is beryl worth?+
What rocks look like beryl?+
What minerals are found with beryl?+
What kind of rock does beryl form in?+
What is beryl used for?+
Find beryl on the map
RockHoundR shows mapped rockhounding spots, access rules, and lets you log every find.
