Spectroscopy and chromaticity characterization of yellow to light-blue iron-containing beryl

The chemical composition and influencing factors of the colour of 95 yellow to light blue iron-bearing beryl are studied through Electron Microprobe Analysis (EMPA), Energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy and X-Rite SP62 spectrophotometer. The intensities of the three characteristic hydroxyl stretching bands of the beryl from 3500 cm(−1) to 3800 cm(−1) prove they are low to medium levels of alkali bearing natural beryl. The wide absorption edge of 320 ~ 465 nm caused by the ultra-violet charge transfer from O(2−) to Fe(3+) and the 650 nm absorption band in E//c-polarization caused by the intervalence charge transfer between Fe(2+) and Fe(3+) are the main factors affecting the colour of beryl. By applying CIE D(65) standard light source and N9 Munsell neutral background as testing conditions, the colour parameters of 82 gem-quality beryl are tested. According to the results, iron-containing beryl colours are classified into yellow, yellowish-green, bluish-green, greenish-blue, and blue by the K-means cluster analysis method. The blue tone has a greater influence on the hue of beryl, while the yellow tone has a greater influence on the chroma. Iron content is higher in yellow and blue beryl. With the increase of iron content, the lightness of beryl decreased and the chroma increased.