
Red Beryl is a mineralogical peculiarity. Known from just a handful of localities in the western USA - in Utah and New Mexico - this beautiful variety of Beryl is much prized for its dramatic ruby colour. Ruby Violet Claims in the Wah Wah Mts., Beaver County, Utah, USA is perhaps the best known occurrence, and where some of the very best crystals have been recovered. This miniature specimen features two well-formed hexagonal prismatic crystals on rhyolite matrix, one, 1.1 cm in length, the other, protruding almost perpendicular from the first, 0.7 cm in length. Both display a fine ruby red colour and glassy lustre, but the larger of the two has more intense, deeper red zones and a greater internal transparency. These are very fine crystals, with only the very slightest of tiny 'mouse bites' around the top edges of the main crystal. A very colourful and pretty specimen of this most rare variety of Beryl.