Beryl var: Morganite with Albite

Item Description

Morganite is the gem pink variety of Beryl, named after the financier, J. P. Morgan, the wealthy gem collector from New York who contributed many superb gems and minerals to the American Museum of Natural History in New York. This specimen is a classic old-time piece from Brazil dating back to the 1960s featuring a VERY gemmy, gorgeous pink colored, thick tabular crystal of Morganite, sitting atop a slab of bladed Albite matrix. The Morganite is partially etched, giving it a somewhat irregular shape, but it also has some smooth well-formed faces. When backlit, you can see the crystal is rather gemmy. There are a few contacted areas, but the piece is still in good shape, and is a wonderful representation dating back around 60± years ago.
This piece comes to us from the legendary Ron Romanella (February 28, 1932 - October 24, 2022), a well-known gem and mineral dealer from New York City. He studied mineralogy at Columbia School of Mines, and he was mentored by Dr. Frederick Pough of the American Museum of Natural History, and learned about the business side from well-known mineral dealers Hugh Ford and Maurice Hammoneau. Ron himself was a mentor to other successful East Coast mineral dealers such as Larry Conklin, Herb Obodda and even employed Dave Wilber for a time. He largely transitioned out of selling minerals as his business focused more on gems for the last few decades, and his sons Michael and Jerry have been running the family business in Scottsdale for many years now. With that said, Ron was one of the great powerhouse mineral dealers in the US for many years, offering fine quality specimens and gem crystals from classic and contemporary localities. Among his top achievements, is that Ron is credited with importing the first known crystals of Tanzanite into the US in the 1960s.