Chrysoberyl

Unknown Owner

The recent Chrysoberyl finds at Ingrid mine in Manica Province, Mozambique are quite unlike any Chrysoberyl I have seen before. Forming thin, platy, or bladed crystals, it is their rich lemon-yellow colour which really makes them stand out. This small miniature-sized individual matrixless crystal is like a window, with totally transparent areas interspersed with wispy feather-like inclusions. Its four top edges are well-crystalllized, with perfectly straight sides, giving it an excellent shape for a Chrysoberyl. Its other, lower, edges are fracture surfaces where it was removed from its host rock. Its two main faces are glassy and marked with perfectly parallel striations reminiscent of saw marks, but these are entirely natural crystal growth lines and add character to the crystal. A highly distinctive Chrysoberyl.