How do I identify Taaffeite?

Taaffeite can be identified by its Violet color. Look for these key characteristics when examining specimens.

What color is Taaffeite?

Taaffeite typically appears in Violet, colourless, pale green, bluish, pink, red, red to violet. Color can vary depending on impurities and formation conditions.

Taaffeite

A variety of Minerals

What is Taaffeite?

Taaffeite (/ˈtɑːfaɪt/; BeMgAl4O8) is a mineral, named after its discoverer Richard Taaffe (1898–1967) who found the first sample, a cut and polished gem, in October 1945 in a jeweler's shop in Dublin, Ireland. As such, it is the only gemstone to have been initially identified from a faceted stone. Most pieces of the gem, prior to Taaffe, had been misidentified as spinel. For many years afterwards, it was known only in a few samples, and it is still one of the rarest gemstone minerals in the world. Since 2002, the International Mineralogical Association-approved name for taaffeite as a mineral is magnesiotaaffeite-2N'2S.

Taaffeite Market Value Calculator

Estimate the market value of Taaffeite using size, quality, and finish. This preview calculator is for quick context and is not a formal appraisal.

Taaffeite Localities Map

See where Taaffeite is found with a localities map, collecting zones, and geology context. Generate a sample map preview below.

Map preview

North ZoneCentral RidgeSouth Basin

Key Characteristics

Characteristics of Taaffeite

In 1951, chemical and X-ray analysis confirmed the principal constituents of taaffeite as beryllium, magnesium and aluminium, making taaffeite the first mineral to contain both beryllium and magnesium as essential components. The confusion between spinel and taaffeite is understandable as certain structural features are identical in both. Anderson et al., classified taaffeite as an intermediate mineral between spinel and chrysoberyl. Unlike spinel, taaffeite displays the property of double refraction that allows distinction between these two minerals.

Formation of Taaffeite

Taaffeite occurs in carbonate rocks alongside fluorite, mica, spinel and tourmaline. This extremely rare mineral is increasingly found in alluvial deposits in Sri Lanka and southern Tanzania, as well as lower grade taaffeite in limestone sediments in China.