Aquamarine
Information
Aquamarine gemstones are blue beryl. It is the
presence of iron that can turn beryl into aquamarine. The name
"aquamarine" means "sea water: in Latin, alluding to its colour.
Most natural-colour Aquamarine is light bluish-green. Prior to
the 1900's, this was the preferred colour for aquamarine.
Today it's routinely heat-treated to remove the green component,
thereby producing a permanently coloured blue stone. The more
intense the blue colour the more valuable the stone.
Aquamarines usually have a high transparency and clarity, even under
magnification. They are also very durable and their colour is
evenly distributed. Brazil, Madagascar, Mozambique, Ukraine,
Nigeria, Pakistan and Zambia are all major sources (Newman, p.84
2003)
Birthstone for March...
| RI: 1.57-1.60 |
SG:
2.67-2.80 |
Hardness:
7.5-8 |
Toughness: Poor
to Good depending on clarity |
| Treatments:
Heated |
| Care Tips:
Ultrasonic cleaners are usually safe for stones of good
clarity |
| Value:
Fine quality stones over a carat retails from $200 to $1000 USD per carat. (Newman, 2006) |
Aquamarines can be securely purchased on this
web site at bargain prices ... see
here
|
