Several years ago, we were on our way to drop off my daughter at the University of Vermont in Burlington when we stopped at the food coop in Brattleboro. It’s one of my favorite places to shop when we’re in …
Spotlight on Gems: The Beryl Family
Emerald, which is a member of the beryl family, is known for carrying the green color ray. Beryl consists of the same elements as corundum, namely aluminum and oxygen, plus silicon and the mineral’s namesake, the element beryllium. Beryl is …
I find it unsurprising that Carnelian is the carrier of the orange ray. Carnelian is a form of chalcedony, which is a cryptocrystalline quartz. When you think of crystals, I’m guessing you probably envision the macrocrystalline variety like Clear Quartz, …
Corundum is classified as igneous, which means it’s been solidified from molten lava or magma. As magma cools, many types of minerals and crystals can form, including corundum rock and gem-quality corundum crystals. The more slowly the cooling occurs, the …
