BERYL VAR. EMERALD

ABOUT THE SPECIMEN

Extraordinary quality single crystal of emerald from a deposit in Madagascar that was worked from the 70's through the 90's. Being of an alluvial origin, the crystal is waterworn, yet it still shows fantastic form with a complete termination and a light coating of biotite mica, also being undamaged to boot. It displays vibrant green color with backlighting, and at over 6 cm it stands at an exceptional crystal size, both for the locality and for any crystal of emerald from any locality worldwide. This piece represents a great opportunity for collectors of emerald or general gem species to grab a standout crystal from a locality that’s not often seen on the market.

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Mining began in the Mananjary region during the mid-1970s after initial alluvial discoveries, with operations at Ambodibakoly exploiting placer deposits from approximately 1975-1982 before expanding to primary hard-rock workings at multiple open-pit mines between 1983-1995. The deposits occur where granitic pegmatites intrude mafic to ultramafic rocks, with emerald forming in phlogopite-rich (biotite-group mica) reaction zones at these contacts through metasomatic processes tied to Pan-African orogenic events around 550 Ma. Crystals reach multiple centimeters displaying colors from pale to intense bluish-green with gem-quality transparency in the best examples. Emerald and fluorine-rich phlogopite formed together when magmatic-hydrothermal fluids from cooling pegmatites reacted with chromium-bearing amphibolites and hornblendites at approximately 500°C and 2 kbar pressure. What distinguishes Mananjary emeralds is their characteristic inclusion assemblages - particularly talc, carbonates, amphiboles, and specific fluid inclusion types. The famous Morafeno mine produced the 536-kilogram "Heaven's Gift Emerald" specimen in 2007. Recent production from mines like Ambodivandrika and Ambatomaneno continues under descendants of original discoverer Jeannot Andrianjafy.