Phenakite is a beryllium-containing silicate, which is most commonly encountered a collector’s mineral. However, despite possessing fairly high levels of brilliance, above-average hardness (7.5-8.0) and a lack of vulnerable directional cleavages, phenakite’s popularity as a faceted gemstone has been held back by the paleness of its yellowish, grayish, brownish or, rarely, rose-pink hues. In fact, the vast majority of faceted gemstones that do appear within the marketplace are completely colorless.

Due to the mineral’s visual similarity to crystalline quartz, it is named after the Greek for “deceiver”. In addition, African phenakite crystals are sometimes fashioned in such a way so as to resemble the octahedral crystal forms of diamond, but these can be easily identified by their lower-than-expected measurable values and lack of diamond’s characteristic triangular etch marks on the crystal faces.