Monday, February 13, 2017

Aquamarine, the transparent and versatile gemstone.....

The beryl species is one of the most notable gemstone families. Many people are only acquainted with the most famous beryl - emerald. But the family includes several important gemstones, including; aquamarine, morganite; in honor of the American banker and gem collector J.P. Morgan. Morganite is usually a soft pink to violet, yet a salmon-color is also known, helidor; also known as golden beryl and maxixe, least common and least known of the variety that is dark, sapphire blue in color. The different varieties of beryl are distinguished by their color, significant transparency and color. Deeper color blues command higher price per carat.
The traditional source for aquamarine is Brazil, yet recently some very fine Mozambique material has made it to the market for sale. Aquamarine ranges in color from a faint light blue to blue and bluish-green, with lighter colored stones being the most common type. Light green beryl can be transformed into aquamarine if heated. The green hues in most aquamarine can also be removed through heat treatment.
Aquamarine is the second most popular of the beryl, named for it’s seawater-like color. The name aquamarine is derived from the Latin words: aqua meaning “water” and marina meaning “of the sea”. It is the birthstone for March.
On the Mohs hardness scale they have a hardness of 7.5 - 8. Compared to a diamond, which is the hardest at 10 on the scale. A stone that is hard enough to wear often because it is durable, yet it may develop internal cracks if banged hard against something. Aquamarine is often completely flawless, unlike emerald. Aquamarine with visible flaws are rarely seen.
Aquamarine crystals range from very small to very large and can be up to 100 lbs. in some cases. Large stones are available, yet it is difficult to use very large stones in jewelry.


Princess Diana famously wore a large aquamarine ring during her visit to Sydney, Australia. The stone was emerald cut, flanked by diamonds and set in yellow gold. The Princess had commissioned the ring herself and would often wear it together with a diamond bracelet.

The below photos; several aquamarine specimens, stunning aquamarine and diamond briolette drop earrings.






18K White Gold Earrings with Aquamarines wit a total weight of 92.57 carats and Round Brilliant Diamonds with a total weight of 2.28 carats G in color and VS in clarity. 
We have these earrings in our stock today, please contact me more information. Thank you for reading and I love hearing your comments.