Welcome to another (another?? I mean, ANOTHER!) new segment of this here blog titled “What’s on the brain?” Each month I’ll be highlighting a gem or style or person (or look or phrase or color or song or pet) that’s being talked, tweeted, or blogged about by giving you its back story, and if you’re good, maybe a little full frontal on it as well.

This month’s centerfold? Morganite.

Ah, Morganite. Half 1980’s prime-time soap star actress/half mineral. There are so, SO many reasons I should love it and do. Firstly, her family is Beryl. (Yes, Morganite is a “she”; don’t you ever forget it.) Beryl, for those who never heard of Wikipedia, live under a rock, or are *so* hipster they refuse to use ‘the internets’, is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminium cyclosilicate with the chemical formula Be₃Al₂(SiO₃)_6. Take THAT eleventh-grade chemistry teacher who failed me! (Imagine you just witnessed a mic drop and were impressed.)

18K rose gold and 13.22 carat Morganite necklace by Yael designs

Now, for a change of direction I’m going to take Morganite to a place she rarely goes: the kingdom of Gondor. Imma ‘bout to get all nerdtastic on your asses, so for those who can’t handle it, you may want to skip to the next paragraph. “Beryl” has often mistakenly been used as the spelling of the name of Boromir’s second and youngest daughter when in fact the correct spelling is Beril. BUT! BUT! That’s not the only Tolkienesque connection. Beryl (the mineral, not the daughter), depending on the hue, is more popularly known by four other familial names: Emerald, Aquamarine, Morganite, and Heliodor (which, by rights, sounds as if it should be the name of the fifth son of Isildur alongside Elendur, Aratan, Ciryon, and Valandil), I mean, right??? DOESN’T IT? Hello? What the hell, gang? Tolkien’s eleventh volume of The History of Middle Earth IS titled “The War of the Jewels”… has no one read that? No one? Peggy Jo? Ahh, fuggeddit. Back to pretty speak.

With the popularity of rose gold hitting record levels, Morganite has become the “IT” gem for fashion jewelry and right-hand rings. Last year, I chose this Rose Water Morganite ring by Yael designs as my pick for Brittany Siminitz’s “Your Pick” feature on JCK Marketplace’s “On Your Market” blog. This marvelously designed ring reminded me of a warm summer day on the beach in Belize; breeze blowing through my long brunette locks whilst my jewels sparkled in the mid-July sunlight.

Maintaining the balance between nerd and fashionista can border on neurotic at times. In case you were wondering.  

A plethora of Morgantite at the Atlanta Jewelry Show in August

Recently I was able to see these uniquely colored gems up close at the Atlanta Jewelry Show, in a variety of different shapes, hues, and carat weights. What I love most about the look of Morganite is that it’s not really pink at all (a color I loathingly loathe), but rather more of a peach color. Salmon, even. Which is why it looks so heavenly when set in rose gold, particularly 18K. It’s become such an “accepted-by-the-masses” look (wasn’t that the original name of Depeche Mode’s 1987 album?) that even hugely successful e-tailers whose name may or may not rhyme with “Flew Bile” (it’s an inside joke, BN. Please don’t sue me) have included rose gold and morganite pieces in the fashion jewelry sections of their websites. Owe. Mah. Gawd, Becky. Look. At her. Ring.

In conclusion, no, I did not write this post while drinking a Glenlivet 12 AND a glass of pinot grigio, simultaneously. Maybe. But in further conclusion, if you’re a retailer, I suggest you get on the horn and contact some of the major jewelry labels doing wonders with this combination (**coughing** Yael Designs**coughing**) and ask what it would take to get it in your store, because you’re missing the boat if you don’t have it. If you’re a fashion jewelry wholesaler, I recommend playing around with the ol’ gal and seeing if her look fits with your look. Try out some Morganite in your collections. Go on. You can do it. She doesn’t bite. Much. And if you’re a fashionista, clearly you already own something containing Morganite because you are FAB.U.LOUS and because you are a WOMAN (or gay man, or gay man, don’t get offended gay men friends) and you can werk that sweet, salmony stone, baby!

My head hurts. Until next time, loves.