Heliodor Value, Price, and Jewelry Information

By Parent Géry (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Heliodor

Heliodor is a member of the beryl family. This stone is known for its range of yellow colors: from pale yellow, greenish-yellow, orange-yellow, to a deep golden orange. Heliodor can be faceted for use in jewelry.

Heliodor Value

The International Gem Society (IGS) has a list of businesses offering gemstone appraisal services.

Beryl Value via Gem Price Guide

Red .1 to 1 carat 1 carat plus
to ,000/ct to ,000/ct
Fine Color Morganite: slpR 3/4
Morganite 1 to 10 carats 10 carat plus
to /ct to /ct
Fine Color Yellow: Y 4/4
Gold & Yellow 1 to 10 carats 10 carat plus
to /ct to /ct
Fine Color Green: slyG 4/3
Green 1 to 20 carats 20 carats plus
to /ct to /ct
Goshenite All sizes
to /ct
See the entire Gem Price Guide.
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Heliodor Information

Data Value
Name Heliodor
Is a Variety of Beryl
Colors Greenish yellow, yellow, yellowish-orange
Alternate Common Names Golden Beryl
Crystallography Hexagonal.
Refractive Index 1.566-1.579
Luster Vitreous.
Hardness 7.5 - 8
Wearability Good
Fracture Conchoidal to uneven
Specific Gravity 2.68-2.72
Birefringence 0.005-0.009
Cleavage Indistinct
Dispersion 0.014 (low)
Stone Sizes See Below
Transparency Transparent to opaque.
Formula

Be3Al2Si6O18 + Fe3+
Pleochroism

Less distinct than the other beryls.  Brownish-yellow to lemon-yellow.
Optics

Uniaxial (-)
Optic Sign Uniaxial -
Etymology

From the Greek helios and doron for “gift of the sun,” in allusion to the yellow color.
Occurrence

Granitic rocks, especially granite pegmatites.
Inclusions

Long, hollow tubes, negative crystals, chrysanthemums.

Comments

Green beryl is sometimes misidentified as heliodor. (Editor’s Note: some gemologists, notably Walter Schumann, reject heliodor as a distinct variety of beryl and consider it a weak-colored golden precious beryl).

Sources

  • Madagascar: gemmy crystals
  • Brazil: greenish yellow to fine deep orange colored material, much of it gemmy.
  • Namibia: in pegmatites.
  • Connecticut: small but fine colored crystals, some gemmy.

Stone Sizes

  • British Museum (Natural History) (London England): 82.25 (yellow)
  • Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto, Ontario, Canada):  77.8 (yellow, step cut, Brazil)
  • Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC): 133.5 (yellow, Madagascar); 43.5 (golden catseye, Madagascar); 17.5 (yellow, Russia)

Care

Consult our gemstone care guide for recommended cleaning methods.

by Joel E. Arem, Ph.D., FGA
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