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Colour
  • Main colors: greenish blue to blue green
  • Light in tone and transparent
  • Some milky quality if lots of inclusions
  • Most collectible colors: aquamarines that have saturated, light blue colours are especially desirable, though a few beryl collectors prefer a slight greenish tinge
Clarity
  • They frequently possess a vitreous clarity not found in emeralds. For this reason, aquamarines may be fashioned as exceptional clean gems and carvings
  • Lower grade aquamarines can have a milky appearance if the crystal has a lot of inclusions
  • a potentially desirable "cat's eye" effect occurs when miniscule, hollow growth tubes form parallel to one another


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TREATMENTS
CUT
  • Consider every aquamarine heat treated
  • Heat treatment causes them to loose their secondary greenish color and create a more "aquamarine blue" gem
  • It is generally impossible to gemologically determine whether an aquamarine has been treated or not
  • Relatively large stones can be cut due to its hardness and relatively large crystals (up to hundreds of carats) without inclusions
  • Unusually cut gems are also popular, especially in gems that have been fashioned by an important lapidary artist.
  • Aquamarines and other beryls often lend themselves to sculptures because of their size



Care
  • Aquamarine can be worn in jewelry under normal use. Larger aquamarines should be worn with care, especially in settings such as rings that can be easily knocked
  • Cleaning: sudsy water and damp cloth

Most collectible:

  • Saturated, light blue colours
  • Gems that have been fashioned by an important lapidary artist or cut in unusual ways
  • Aquamarines from desirable localities, such as Santa Maria aquamarines from Itabira, in Brazil, are collectible in accordance to their legendary depth-of-colour
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