Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminum cyclosilicate. It is a very popular mineral in all of its forms. The hexagonal crystals and can be found in small to very large sizes. Pure beryl has no color and is known as "goshenite,"" but transparent crystals with inclusions and impurities are different colors and are known as gemstones with different names. Colors range green to blue to red, yellow, and white. Green beryl is caused by traces of chromium. The deep green variety of beryl is 
emerald, one of the most precious gemstones. The light green shade of beryl is known simply as ""green beryl."" Green beryl is sometimes heat treated to create 
aquamarine. Yellow or golden beryl is known as ""heliodor,"" and blue beryl, caused by traces of iron, is known as aquamarine. Pink beryl is ""morganite,"" and the deep red variety of beryl, is known as ""red beryl"" or ""bixbite."" Bixbite is very rare and therefore expensive. It can only be found in two locations in Utah."
The name beryl comes from the Latin word "beryllus,"" which is a ""precious blue-green color-of-sea-water stone."" Beryl is the star sign stone for Scorpio and the talismanic stone for Sagittarius. The mineral can be opaque to translucent with a vitreous luster. Beryl rates a 7.5 to 8 on the Moh's hardness scale, which makes it well suited for use in jewelry."
Beryl is found mostly in granitic pegmatites, but is also found in mica schists in the Ural Mountains of Russia, as well as in limestone in Columbia. Beryl is found in Europe in Sweden, Germany, Austria and Norway. It is also found in Brazil, South Africa, Columbia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zambia, and the United States. In the United States, beryl can be found in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. Beryl is New Hamphire's state mineral. Some of the largest beryl crystals ever found come from the Bumpus Quarry in Albany, Maine. Those crystals have a mass of around 18 metric tons and measure 18 by 3.9 feet. However, the largest beryl crystal ever found came from Malakialina, Madagascar. It is 59 feet long and 11 feet in diameter, weighing 840,000 pounds.
Beryl has been said to have the power to keep demons away, to promote happiness and marital love, increase sincerity, cure laziness, protect travelers from danger, and maintain youthfulness. Pliny The Elder used a powdered form of beryl to cure eye injuries, as well as disorders of the heart and spine.
