What is Morganite, the Popular Diamond Alternative?

In 2016, Pantone named Rose Quartz the Color of the Year. Joined by Serenity—a cooler tranquil blue—Rose Quartz was a warmer rose tone for people who sought relief from the modern-day stresses. It represented wellness and a soothing sense of comfort and peace. It was so trendy for its calming effect that it soon became Millennial Pink. Incredibly popular among the millennial generation, the color, which is not too bright but also not too sugary, perfectly represented the generation who associated the color with the markers of childhood nostalgia like unicorns and milkshakes but also with their distant access to markers of stable adulthood like owning a house and secured employment. Since then, this tone of pink has lingered. If you’re one of those people going loca over this tone of rosa, then, morganite should definitely be on your radar, and here’s why.

What is Morganite?

Morganite is the pink to orange-pink variety of beryl. It is one of the most popular non-diamond choices for engagement rings and is harder than the rest of the gemstones, except the main popular ones—diamond, ruby, and sapphire.

Morganite’s color is due to the traces of manganese. It’s a pleochroic stone; thus, it exhibits different colors when observed from different angles and directions. Strong, richer color is rare in this stone; hence, gem cutters must orient their rough carefully to produce a richer color.

History and Meaning

The history of morganite began in 1910 when pink beryl, discovered on Madagascar, found its way to gemologist George Kunz. Kunz proposed its name ‘morganite’ to honor his friend and client, J.P Morgan. Morgan was also one of the most important gem collectors in the 1900s.

Unlike other gemstones, morganite has kept a low profile. In fact, other than the Rose of Maine, not much can be found about its emergence. The Rose of Maine, an over 50-pound crystal, was the largest morganite specimen discovered on October 7, 1989, in the Bennet Quarry of Buckfield, Maine.

If you need help with your relationships, then morganite is the stone for you. Known as the Stone of Divine Love, morganite is a high-vibration crystal that exudes loving energy. It aids spirituality and brings joy, compassion, and strength as it is connected with the heart, soul, and love.

Morganite should not be confused with moissanite. Natural moissanite is rare; hence, most moissanite available today are lab-created. However, if you are after durability and brilliance, you’re probably looking for moissanite. It scores a 9.25 on the Mohs hardness scale and can even be more brilliant than a diamond. After all, moissanite has a refractive index higher than a diamond, at 2.65-2.69.

How to Clean Morganite Jewelry?

Morganite is a pretty durable gemstone as long as you treat it with care. Cleaning is easy.

• Soak your morganite jewelry in plain warm, soapy water.
• Gently brush it with a soft-bristle brush for 2 to 5 minutes to remove dirt build up.
• Rinse it with water and shake it off to remove excess liquid.
• Blow dry.

How to Photograph Morganite with the GemLightbox Macro

In this section, we are going to show you how we photographed a morganite loose stone on a grey background. Grey is an excellent alternative to a white background if you want to stand out. It is neutral; therefore, it’s not distracting. Further, it gives your jewelry photo and video a timeless feel.

Tools and equipment:

• GemLightbox Macro
• iPhone 12
• Morganite

Step 1. Power up the GemLightbox Macro and remove the front reflector cover.

First, turn on the GemLightbox Macro and remove the front reflector cover. If this is your first time using Macro, remember to set up the smartphone stand before anything else. Setting up the smartphone stand will help make your future photo shoots less time-consuming.

You can watch the full setup process here.

Step 2. Place the morganite stone inside the Macro.

Next, place the morganite stone inside the GemLightbox Macro.

Macro comes with three loose stone discs to match the size of your gemstone and give you flexibility with different backgrounds. The three colors are white, grey, and black.

Since we used a grey background here, we placed the gemstone on top of the grey disc inside the Macro.

Step 3. Put back the cover and position your smartphone.

Then, position your smartphone on the smartphone holder and open the GemLightbox app.

You can download the app on the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store for Android users. Connect via Bluetooth and once connected, make the necessary adjustments. For instance, you can zoom in or out, tap to focus or adjust the brightness level as desired.

Step 4. Finally, click to capture.

Finally, click to capture!

Take note that with the GemLightbox Macro, you can shoot 360, 90, and 45-degree angle videos. Choose whichever you think best suits your purpose.

When you’re done, don’t forget to click ‘save,’ to save the photos and videos to the GemLightbox app gallery. From the gallery, you can share them with your followers on social media or send them via e-mail to your clients directly.

See results below.

Watch the complete GemLightbox Macro demo below.