The mineral or gemstone
chrysoberyl is an
aluminate of
beryllium with the formula
BeAl2O4. The name chrysoberyl is derived from the
Greek words χρυσός
chrysos and βήρυλλος
beryllos, meaning "a gold-white spar". Despite the similarity of their names, chrysoberyl and
beryl are two completely different gemstones, although they both contain beryllium. Chrysoberyl is the third-hardest frequently encountered natural gemstone and lies at 8.5 on the
hardness scale, between
corundum (9) and
topaz (8).