Aquamarine Gemstones

The beauty of the Aquamarine gemstone

Most aquamarines have a natural greenish tint, but this disappears when heated and leaves a pure blue hue instead. Many aquamarine ring buyers today like more of a natural look to the stone and prefer some greenish coloring to it. That means since the color varies so greatly from blue green to more blue or more green, you might have a difficult time spotting an aquamarine ring from a light emerald or a light sapphire.

The aquamarine ring stone also has long, hollow tubes, like emerald stones. What's really interesting is that if there are enough of these tubes 'cat's eyes', or 'stars', can be produced by a talented gem cutter. But be warned. Since these can be rare to find you can expect dealers to demand a premium price for an aquamarine ring of this nature.
As with all gem rings, and gemstone jewelry, the quality of the gemstones cut is important. An aquamarine ring is no different. Deep designs, like emerald cuts, are often the most preferred. When it comes to angles of an aquamarine ring, low crown angles produce higher brilliance, while higher crowns will deepen the color. In conclusion remember that the price of an aquamarine ring can depend on the same factors as other gemstone jewelry such as the clarity, the depth of color and the purity of color. That means the more aquamarine in color your aquamarine ring appears to be, the more it's worth.

Learn About Aquamarine Gemstones

Aquamarine gemstones are a member of the beryl group of minerals, the most famous of which is emerald. Aquamarine is the blue/green variety of beryl and is from the Latin word meaning "sea water". Aquamarine gemstones are mainly light blue in color and are very pleasing to the eye. Aquamarine is the birthstone for March and is a very popular gemstone, especially with high end jewelry designers It is a relatively hard and durable gemstone, rated 8 on the Mohs scale, and possesses moderate to good brilliance. Aquamarine can occur in very large clean hexagonal or irregular crystals, and is even found as bi-color with other beryl minerals such as morganite. The coloring element to produce the beautiful blue, blue-green or green color is iron, which is substituted for aluminum in the crystal structure. Aquamarine can occur in a blue/green color and even a pure green color, which is than heat-treated to a temperature of 600 -1200 degrees Fahrenheit to produce a pure blue color. This treatment is permanent and accepted in the gemstone trade as standard.

Aquamarine Gemstone History and Lore

The word aquamarine is from the Latin words "aqua" and "mare", meaning water and sea respectively. The first documented use of an aquamarine gemstone is by the Greeks, around the time period 480 to 300 BC. It has been very popular since the seventeenth century. Aquamarine amulets were worn by ancient sailors to render them fearless and protect them from the wrath of the oceans, especially if the stone was engraved with the Poseidon chariot.

Aquamarine Gemstone Evaluation and Valuation

Aquamarine Gemstone Evaluation and Valuation
Because aquamarine gemstones commonly occur in large clean crystals, the size of the finished aquamarine gemstone is not an important evaluation characteristic. For example a 40 carat very pale aquamarine gem will be worth the same as a very fine deep blue aquamarine of one carat size. Intensity of color and clarity are the most essential considerations in evaluating Aquamarine. It should posses at least a bright sky blue color. Exceptionally deep, vivid blue colors are very scarce and becoming increasingly valuable. All gem quality aquamarine should be free of any inclusions.

Aquamarine Jewelry by Africagems

Aquamarine rings with fine quality aquamarine gemstones are a rarity in most fine jewelry stores and online retailers. Most aquamarine jewelry, like the loose aquamarine gemstones sold in these venues is pale and lifeless. AfricaGems has specialized in fine aquamarine for more than 20 years. We have mined, processed and manufactured 1000's of carats of extremely fine aquamarine gemstones of all shapes and sizes. Our selection of Aquamarine gemstone rings features very high quality Aquamarine gems. All of our Aquamarine gemstones used in our Aquamarine rings have deep intense color saturation, are well cut and proportional. Our selections of Aquamarine rings are varied in their styles, but are unique with an emphasis on quality. We offer handmade, custom designed Aquamarine solitary rings with no diamonds. We also offer unique Aquamarine and diamond rings utilizing up to 3 different gold types with intricate engraving. Our varied line of Aquamarine and Diamond micro pave rings has complimentary pendants, earrings and bracelets.
We can also custom design a ring for you using one of our loose Aquamarine gemstones. Just send us your picture or sketch and we'll give you a quote

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Lensmaster

flowski wrote...

Thanks for the closer look at aquamarine gemstones. I certainly learned a lot!

Posted March 16, 2008

Lensmaster

Aqua-info-needer wrote

nice but maybe you could talk about the popular mines. SOCKPET RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted February 03, 2008