Beryl

specimen number:
2102453

location:
Bennett Quarry, Buckfield, Maine, USA

description:
Glassy translucent partial pink crystal of beryl, this the variety known as morganite. Quite nice for the species and locality. Collected in the very early 1990s.

The Bennett Quarry, located in Buckfield, Oxford County, Maine, is a historic pegmatite mining site with a legacy of producing notable gem and mineral specimens. Geologically, the deposit is situated within a complex granitic pegmatite that intruded regional metamorphic rocks during the Paleozoic era, driven by late-stage magmatic and hydrothermal processes. These zoned pegmatites concentrate volatile elements and fluxes such as lithium, cesium, and manganese, creating optimal conditions for the crystallization of giant mineral crystals within interior pocket zones. The quarry achieved worldwide fame among mineral collectors on October 7, 1989, when miners uncovered one of the largest gem-quality beryl specimens ever found, a massive pink variety beryl known as morganite (specifically the pink-to-peach variety colored by trace manganese) weighing over fifty pounds and famously named The Rose of Maine.

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