By Chisom Ibemere
Taaffeite is a beryllium magnesium aluminum oxide mineral with impurities such as iron, manganese, zinc, vanadium, and chromium.
Taaffeite is a mineral, whose name is given after its discoverer Richard Taaffe. Richard Taaffe (1898–1967) found the first sample, a cut and polished gem, in October 1945 in a jeweler’s shop in Dublin, Ireland.
It is known as the only gemstone to have been initially identified from a faceted stone. For years, Taaffeite was known only in a few samples, and it is still one of the rarest gemstone minerals around the globe.
Taaffeite is a hard stone, with a Mohs hardness of 8 to 8.5. It has a conchoidal fracture with a specific gravity between 3.60 to 3.62, and a refractive rate of 1.716 to 1.730. It can only be used as a gemstone due to its rarity. It has a hexagonal crystal structure.
Taaffeite is found in carbonate rocks with fluorite, mica, spinel and tourmaline minerals. They also occurr in alluvial deposits in Sri Lanka and southern Tanzania and also in lower grade taaffeite in limestone sediments which are in China.
Taaffeite reacts to most gemological tests such as mauve-colored spinel test, but can be distinguished on the basis of its birefringence. It is transparent and mostly popular for its mauve coloring and scarcity. Aside being rare, it has been noted for historically being mistaken for spinel.
Taaffeite is a semi precious stone though exceeded the rarity and prices of some of the precious gemstones. It can also be called bemagalite.