Chrysoberyl Value, Price, and Jewelry Informa on

Chrysoberyl: cat's eye, Sri Lanka (~ 5). Photo © Joel E. Arem, PhD, FGA. Used with permission.

Cat's eye gems of many different mineral species are well known, but when the term “cat's eye” is used alone it always refers to the rare gemstone chrysobe
However, not all chrysoberyls show this chatoyant effect. Transparent to translucent chrysoberyl without a cat's eye can make a wonderful faceted stone.
Chatoyant chrysoberyls are cut into cabochons to best display their spectacular eyes. Some chrysoberyls that show a color change are known as alexandrit
varie es of this gem are prized jewelry stones.

Chrysoberyl Value
The Interna onal Gem Society (IGS) has a list of businesses offering gemstone appraisal services.

Alexandrite Value via Gem Price Guide

Top Color: G 5/2 and R or slpR 5/3

Faceted to .5 carat .5 to 1 carat 1 carat plus

Top Red/Green    to   /ct    to   /ct to   ,000/ct

Medium Red/Green    to       to   /ct to   ,000/ct

Slight Red/Green    to   /ct to   /ct

See the en re Gem Price Guide.

 Start an IGS Membership today for full access to our price guide (updated monthly).
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Chrysoberyl Value via Gem Price Guide

Top Color: styG, YG, gY 3/4

Faceted 1 to 7 carats

Color Change    to   ,000/ct

Fine Green    to   /ct.

Bright Yellow    to   /ct

Brownish Yellow    to   /ct

See the en re Gem Price Guide.

Start an IGS Membership today for full access to our price guide (updated monthly).
See Plans and Pricing

Chrysoberyl Informa on
DATA VALUE

Name Chrysoberyl

Varie es Alexandrite, Cymophane

Crystallography  Orthorhombic. Crystals tabular or prisma c, sixling-twins common; also massive and as waterworn pebbles.

Refrac ve Index  1.740-1.777

Colors  Yellowish green, yellow, gray, brown, blue-green, deep green, red, violet. Rarely colorless. Cat's eye is usually dark yellowish brown to pale yellow, honey yel
greenish.

Luster  Vitreous.

Fracture  Conchoidal

Hardness  8.5

Specific Gravity  3.68-3.80; colorless 3.70; gems usually higher. Australia: 3.72-3.74.

Birefringence  0.008-0.012

Cleavage  Dis nct 1 direc on, seldom observed, varies to poor

Dispersion  0.015

Luminescence  Usually none, pale green chrysoberyl from Connec cut noted yellow-green in SW.

Wearability  Excellent

Transparency  Transparent to opaque.

Absorp on Yellowish and brown gems have strong band at 4440 due to Fe, especially Sri Lankan gems. Also may be bands visible at 5040 and 4860.
Spectrum 

Phenomena  Chatoyancy (“cat's eye"), asterism, color change.

Formula BeAl2O4 + Fe, Ti

Pleochroism  Dis nct, in shades of yellow and brown.

DATA VALUE

Op cs  a = 1.740-1.759; β= 1.747-1.764; γ = 1.745-1.770. Biaxial (+), may also be ( - ), 2V= 70°. Indices vary with Fe content. Colorless (Sri Lanka): a = 1.740; β = 1
= 1.750. Australia: a = 1.756-1.765; β= 1.761-1.772; γ = 1.768-1.777.

Etymology From the Greek chrysos for “golden” and beryllos, a sea-green precious stone, in reference to the typical yellowish-green color of this mineral.

Occurrence Occurs in pegma tes, gneiss, mica schist, dolomi c marbles; also found as stream pebbles and detrital grains.

Inclusions  In cat's eye, there are short needles and tubes parallel to the long axis of the crystal. Liquid-filled cavi es with 2-phase inclusions, stepped twin planes.

Chrysoberyl: Sri Lanka (7.80, 6.19, 7.51, 7.04) // Brazil (11.84), Sri Lanka (13.25, 9.30 //21.30) Brazil (11.49), Sri Lanka (12.02). Photo © Joel E. Arem, PhD, FGA. Used with permission

Comments
The transparent variety of chrysoberyl makes a handsome faceted gem. With indis nct cleavage and hardness of 8.5, it’s one of the toughest stones for jew
purposes. In general, the bright yellow and yellow-green shades are the most desirable, but some of the browns are also striking. Properly cut gems are very
brilliant, although they lack fire due to low dispersion. Chrysoberyls from Australia have unusually high refrac ve indices and could possibly be misiden fied
yellow-brown sapphires.

Yellow green radiant cut chrysoberyl, 2.77 cts. © All That Gli ers. Used with permission.

The alexandrite variety of chrysoberyl is well known today. Consult our alexandrite buying guide for specific informa on on evalua ng this very scarce and
expensive color change gem.

Cat’s Eye Chrysoberyl

Chatoyant or cat’s eye chrysoberyl is also known as cymophane. That name comes from a Greek word meaning “appearing like a wave,” alluding to the opal
hazy appearance of the surface of some crystals. However, the eye of a chatoyant chrysoberyl is the sharpest of any cat’s eye gemstone. Fine silk inclusions
this effect. Resolving these fibers requires a microscope.

The eye in a chrysoberyl cat’s eye o en has a shimmering blue tone. The op mum color for these stones is a honey brown. When light obliquely strikes suc
stone, it usually creates a shadow effect within the gem. The side away from the light is a rich brown, while the side facing the light is yellowish white. This
called “milk and honey” look is characteris c of the finest cat’s eyes. This effect in stones over 20 carats can result in very high values.
This greenish yellow chrysoberyl shows a very sharp cat’s eye as well as the “milk and honey” effect. 1.16 cts, 6 x 5.5 mm, oval cabochon, Sri Lanka. © The Gem Trad
with permission.

Star Chrysoberyl
Star stone chrysoberyls (displaying asterism) are known but very rare.

This very rare chrysoberyl star stone also has a slight dark brownish/purplish green color change. 2.60 cts, 7.6 x 6.6 mm, oval cabochon, Sri Lanka.
© The Gem Trader. Used with permission.

What is Chrysolite?
In the 19th century, yellow-green chrysoberyl was commonly known as chrysolite, a term also used to refer to peridot. The name “chrysolite” has since falle
use. Gemologists now recognize peridot and chrysoberyl as dis nct gem species. Despite their names, beryl and chrysoberyl are also dis nct species (thoug
do both include in their chemical makeup the rare element beryllium).
 Stackable rings, chrysoberyl, rhodolite, spinel, and tourmaline. © Dan Stair
Custom Gemstones. Used with permission.

Synthe cs
Manufacturers have synthesized all varie es of chrysoberyls. Non-chatoyant chrysoberyl stones have been flux grown since the late 19th century. Laborato
have also used melt as well as hydrothermal crea on processes.

Cat’s eyes have been synthesized since the 1970s and available commercially since the 1980s. Gemologists can dis nguish these synthe c chatoyant stone
their natural counterparts by the following characteris cs:

their undula ng needle inclusions (natural chrysoberyls have parallel needle inclusions),

a lack of other typical inclusions,

a weak yellow fluorescence in shortwave ultraviolet light.

See the alexandrite gem lis ng for more informa on on the synthesis of that gemstone.

Consult a professional gemological laboratory to dis nguish synthe c from natural chrysoberyls.

Enhancements
Non-chatoyant chrysoberyls usually receive no enhancements. Rarely, cat’s eyes receive dye, oil, or radia on treatments to enhance their colors.

Sources
See the alexandrite gem lis ng for informa on on the sources of that par cular variety. Notable sources of non-alexandrite, gem-quality chrysoberyls inclu
following:

Australia (Anakie, Queensland): yellow-green chrysoberyl.

Brazil (especially Jacuda, Bahia): fine facetable material; also cat’s eyes.

India: cat’s eyes with sillimanite fibers, from Kerala.

Myanmar: rarely colorless facetable chrysoberyl.

Sri Lanka: all types, some of the world’s finest cat’s eyes, face ng material all colors, rarely colorless.

USA: Colorado, Connec cut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, South Dakota.

Democra c Republic of the Congo; Finland; Japan; Madagascar; Tanzania.

 Chrysoberyl crystal, 1.6 x 1.3 x 0.2 cm, Mogok, Sagaing District, Mandalay
Division, Myanmar. © Rob Lavinsky, www.iRocks.com. Used with permission.

Stone Sizes
Facetable chrysoberyl is known up to several hundred carats, and cat’s eyes of similar size have also been found.

Faceted gems over 40-50 carats are very rare. The world’s largest cut cat’s eye is “The Eye of The Lion,” a dark, greenish yellow 465-ct oval cabochon, cut fr
piece of Sri Lankan rough weighing over 700 carats.

The world’s largest faceted chrysoberyl is a flawless 245-ct, slightly yellowish green oval-cut gem from Sri Lanka.

Bri sh Museum of Natural History (London): 29.4 (Sri Lanka, yellow-green); 45 (The Hope chrysoberyl, flawless oval cat’s eye).

Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Ontario, Canada): 42.72 (Sri Lanka, chartreuse green)

American Museum of Natural History (New York): 74.4 (emerald cut, yellowish green, may be world’s finest of this color).

Smithsonian Ins tu on (Washington, DC): cat’s eyes: 171.5 (Sri Lanka, gray-green); 47.8 (Sri Lanka); 58.2 (The Maharani, Sri Lanka); faceted: 114.3 (Sri La
yellow-green); 120.5 (Sri Lanka, green); 46.3 (Brazil, yellow-green); 31.7 (Sri Lanka, brown); 6.7 (Brazil, dark green star).

Iranian Crown Jewels: 147.7 (Sri Lanka, chartreuse); 25 (gray-green cat’s eye).

Private Collec ons: Cat’s eyes up to 300 carats are in private collec ons. Stones reported include a flawed 185-ct yellow Brazilian gem; a superb 120-ct
Brazilian gem in a Japanese collec on; and a 79.30-ct brown Sri Lankan oval and a 66.98-ct flawless yellow Brazilian stone in a U.S. collec on.
 Maharani cat’s eye chrysoberyl, on display at the Smithsonian Museum of
Natural History. Photo by Tim Evanson. Licensed under CC By-SA 2.0.

Care
Chrysoberyl is a very durable stone suitable for any jewelry se ng. However, care should be taken when face ng this material, since it’s sensi ve to knock
extreme heat. Otherwise, these gems require no special care. They can be cleaned mechanically, per the instruc ons of the machine to be used, or, of cours
warm, soapy water and a brush. Consult our gemstone jewelry cleaning guide for more recommenda ons.
 Chrysoberyl cabochons from Minas Gerais, Brazil. Gem cu ng by Afonso Marques. Photo by Eurico Zimbres. Licensed under CC By-SA 3.0.

by Joel E. Arem, Ph.D., FGA, Interna onal Gem Society

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