AquamarineQualitFactor

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This3.74ct.princesscutaquamarinesprizedmediumbluecolorishighlightedbythe22diamondsthatsurroundit.Theringisanoriginal,copyrighteddesignbyZoltanDavid.
RobertWeldon,courtesyofNancy'sCollection

Inthecommercialmarket,aquamarinecompeteswithtreatedbluetopazforattention,butfineaquamarinesellsforfarmorethanequivalentquality
treatedbluetopaz.
Color
Aquamarinescolorrangeisverynarrow:Itcanbeblue,veryslightlygreenishblue,greenishblue,verystronglygreenishblue,orgreenblue.The
gemsmostvaluablecolorisadarkbluetoslightlygreenishbluewithmoderatelystrongintensity.Ingeneral,thepurerandmoreintensethebluecolor,
themorevaluablethestone.Mostaquamarineisalightgreenishblue.

Thissuperb32.10caratheartshapedBrazilianaquamarineshowsthegem'sfinestcolor,amoderatelystrong,mediumdark,veryslightlygreenishblue.CourtesyM.Chung
GemstonesandFineJewelryCo.

Althoughsomebuyerspreferthemoregreenishnaturalcolor,mostoftheaquamarineinthemarketwasheattreatedtogiveitmoreofapureblue.
Fashionedaquamarinesoftenhavetobefairlylargegenerallyover5caratstoshowintense,darkcolor.Althoughsmallgemsarerarelysaturated
enoughtobeattractive,stonesfromsomeminesinAfricaNigeria,Madagascar,andMozambique,forexampleareknownforintensecolorinsizes
under5carats.Forthisreason,smaller,topcolorstonesmightsellformorepercaratthanlargerstonesofthesamecolor.

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Clarity
Mostfacetedaquamarinesareeyeclean.Somecrystalsmightcontainliquidinclusions,butclaritycharacteristicsarefeworabsentinmostfinished
gems.Stoneswitheyevisibleinclusionsareusuallyfashionedintocabochons,beads,orcarvings.

Carvingsarepopularfortranslucenttoopaqueaquamarine.CourtesyNeoartPeru

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Facetedaquamarineusuallyhasnoeyevisibleinclusions.CourtesyDudleyBlauwet

Insomeberylcrystals,thereareenoughparallelinclusionsusuallylongholloworliquidfilledtubestoallowcutterstofashiontheroughtoshowa
catseye.

Thisverygreenishaquamarinecabochonhasenoughparallelinclusionstodisplayacatseye.

Thisverygreenishaquamarinecabochonhasenoughparallelinclusionstodisplayacatseye.

Cut
Aquamarinescanbecutintoalmostanyshape,butcuttersoftenfashionthemasemeraldcutsorasroundorovalbrilliants.Theroughisfairly
plentiful,sowellcutstonesarefairlycommon.Thegemstoneshardnessandtransparencymakeitpopularwithdesigners,artists,andcarvers.Gem
sculptorsuseaquamarineforfantasycutsandornamentalobjects.

Aquamarinecanbecutinavarietyofstandardshapes.

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Emeraldcutsareamongthecommonaquamarinecuttingstyles.CourtesyICA

Thegemispleochroic,whichmeansitshowsdifferentcolorsindifferentcrystaldirectionsinthecaseofaquamarine,theyrenearcolorlessand
strongblue.Fortunately,thebluepleochroiccolorcorrespondswiththecuttingorientationthatretainsthemostweight,withthetablefacetaligned
paralleltothelengthofthecrystal.

Aquamarineisagreatmediumforartisticdesignercutslikethis10.37caratbeauty.LydiaDyer,gemcourtesyJohnDyer&Co.

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Aquamarinethatstooincludedforfacetingisoftencarvedandsetintodesignerjewelry.GIAandTinoHammid

CaratWeight
Aquamarinecrystalscomeinsizesfromverysmalltoverylargesomeevenupto100lbs.(45kg).Whilelargestonesarereadilyavailable,its
difficulttousetheminjewelry,sothereslessdemandforthem,exceptascenterstones.Asaresult,percaratpricestendtodecreaseforsizes
above25carats.
Manyverylargeaquamarinecrystalshavebeendiscovered.ThelargestBrazilianaquamarineonrecordwasfoundin1910,inMinasGerais,Brazil.It
weighed244lbs.(110kg)andmeasured19in.(48cm)longand15in.(38cm)indiameter.