Chrysoberyl is a hard natural mineral, usually yellow to yellowish green. Its two famous varieties are alexandrite, which changes color, and cat's-eye, which shows a bright line across a polished dome.
Chrysoberyl
Chrysoberyl
Crisoberilo
- Palette
- Yellow Green
- Mined in
- Brazil, Sri Lanka, Russia, Tanzania, India, Madagascar, United States
- Hardness
- Mohs 8.5 ?
- See-through
- transparent
- Known since
- 1790
- Named for
- Greek words for gold and beryl
- Also sold as
- Cymophane (cat's-eye variety)
- Intention
- Strength Abundance
- Looking for
- Goals and motivation Willpower Confidence and self-worth
- Water
- Fine with water and mild soap
- Dye or finish
- Most chrysoberyl is sold natural. Cat's-eye chrysoberyl may be irradiated, and the trade lists ordinary yellow, brown and green stones as not known to be enhanced.
Not in our pieces now
8.5 ON MOHS
At 8.5 on the Mohs scale, chrysoberyl falls between corundum and topaz, the third-hardest gem you are likely to meet.
NORDENSKIÖLD
Finnish mineralogist Nils Gustaf Nordenskiöld is credited with discovering alexandrite, after first mistaking a sample for emerald.
DUKE OF CONNAUGHT
Cat's-eye chrysoberyl grew popular in the late 1800s after the Duke of Connaught gave a cat's-eye engagement ring.
What it is
A hard beryllium aluminum oxide, usually yellow to yellowish green and transparent to translucent. Its two best-known varieties are alexandrite, which changes color, and cat's-eye, which shows a thin bright line across a polished dome. Despite the name it is not beryl.
What gives it its color
Yellow and green chrysoberyl get their color from a trace of iron, while the color-changing alexandrite variety gets it from a trace of chromium. A cat's eye stripe comes from fine needles or tubes lined up inside the stone.
Where it comes from
Much chrysoberyl is mined from river gravels in Brazil and Sri Lanka; alexandrite was first found in Russia's Ural Mountains and also comes from India, Madagascar and Tanzania.
In history
The color-change variety alexandrite turned up in 1831 in the emerald mines of the Ural Mountains in Russia and was named for the future Tsar Alexander II. Sri Lanka later produced much larger stones, some of them weighing dozens of carats.
What's said about it
In crystal lore, chrysoberyl is a stone for drive and goal setting. People keep it when they want to feel sure of themselves and of the direction they have chosen.
In older gem lore from Sri Lanka, the cat's-eye variety was a charm against evil spirits, and India prized it highly.
It is very hard, so people wear it as a bracelet or ring or carry it in a pocket.
How people wear or keep it: As a bracelet or ring, in a pocket, or in either hand.
In crystal practice
In the crystal tradition, chrysoberyl is paired with the solar plexus chakra, so practitioners rest it there during meditation or lie down with it in place for a few quiet minutes. Day to day, the same tradition suggests keeping it close: as a bracelet or ring, in a pocket, in either hand. People reach for it when they want goals and motivation, willpower, confidence and self-worth, and many set an intention when they put it on. Most practitioners cleanse a new stone first (running water only if the stone can take it, otherwise smoke or moonlight) and set it aside now and then to rest.
These are beliefs people have held and still hold about the stone, reported as such. Nothing here is a promise or a medical claim. We sell stones as jewelry, not for these effects.
Associations
The chakra and star sign this stone is usually matched with. These are popular traditions, not facts about the stone.
ChakraSolar Plexus
ZodiacGemini, Leo
BirthstoneJune
Anniversary12th (alexandrite) / 18th (cat's eye)
Also calledCymophane (cat's-eye variety)
Care
- Very hard, so it handles daily wear in a bracelet or ring.
- Warm soapy water and a soft brush are enough for cleaning.
- Even hard stones can chip on a sharp knock, so keep it from banging against other stones.
- Store it apart from softer beads so it does not scratch them.
How to tell what you have
- Chrysoberyl is very hard (8.5), yellow to green, with the color-change variety alexandrite and the cat's-eye variety cymophane.
- Be careful with beads called cat's-eye: many are glass or fiber-optic material, and synthetic or color-change corundum is sold as alexandrite. A real cat's eye has a sharp line that follows the light.
What sets the price
Price follows the color (bright yellow and yellow-green are most wanted), whether the stone shows a sharp cat's-eye or a color change, and its size. Plain natural chrysoberyl is rare and costly, and lab-made or imitation material is priced far lower, so it matters which one a strand is.
Questions people ask at our table
What is chrysoberyl?
A natural mineral, beryllium aluminum oxide, at Mohs hardness 8.5. It is a different mineral from beryl, which is the family of emerald and aquamarine.
What is the difference between chrysoberyl and the cat-eye beads you carry?
True cat's-eye is a variety of chrysoberyl, a rare and costly gem sold by the carat. Our cat-eye beads are fiber-optic glass, a manufactured material that shows a similar bright line.
How does alexandrite relate to chrysoberyl?
Alexandrite is chrysoberyl that contains chromium and looks green in daylight and reddish under incandescent light. It has its own page in this reference.
Where is chrysoberyl mined?
Brazil and Sri Lanka are the major sources, much of it from river gravels. Russia, India, Madagascar and Tanzania are also named.
Can I wear it every day?
It is one of the hardest natural gemstones, so it holds up well. Warm soapy water and a soft brush keep it clean.
Not in our pieces right now
Stones we do carry that are close to it are listed under related stones.
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