Named after the Greenland explorer in 1884, till 1912 gem quality crystals of kornerupine were not found. It is more of a collectors’ stone till today and is not popular commercially. Kornerupine is rare and its best green color is emerald-green color, because of which, it looks identical to emerald. The way to separate kornerupine from emerald is that kornerupine’s pleochroism is extremely strong in comparison to emerald, which is why; it appears green to reddish-brown when viewed from different directions. Green is not the only color of kornerupine because it also comes in attractive browns, yellows and pinks.

Locations:

The main localities from where Kornerupine comes are Sri Lanka, Madagascar and East Africa.

Chemical Composition: Magnesium Aluminum
Crystal Structure: Orthorhombic
Hardness: 6.5
Specific Gravity: 3.34
Refractive Index: 1.64-1.69
Colors: Green, greenish brown, brown, yellow and pink.
Luster: Vitreous