6.11 Aqua...thoughts???

[gwcynthia]

Looking at this aquamarine. I already bought a smaller one which was $327/carat from this seller. His photos were pretty accurate in shade and sunlight.
This one is $425/ct. I am looking for some expert thoughts on this! Since I am a noob, most here are more expert than me!
Any thoughts are appreciated. I had to take the screenshots from videos so they are not the best!

 

[dk168]

Based on the photos provided alone, I believe the stone is nice in terms of cut, clarity and colour (if one likes this kind of blue in an Aqua).

However, I believe the price is on the high side myself, and am unlikely to part with (just) over 2k USD for it. If it is around 2k USD, then probably yes.

Personal opinion/preferences and all that.

DK

 

[gwcynthia]

Based on the photos provided alone, I believe the stone is nice in terms of cut, clarity and colour (if one likes this kind of blue in an Aqua).

However, I believe the price is on the high side myself, and am unlikely to part with (just) over 2k USD for it. If it is around 2k USD, then probably yes.

Personal opinion/preferences and all that.

DK

Thank you! It seemed a little high....

 

[LIGemzGal]

I feel like that's a biit high for aqua. It looks to be well cut, however. And good saturation. BUT---do you know the origin? Heated/non-heated? The clarity/saturation make me think its heated, and so Id say that's too much for a heated aqua. .

 

[fredflintstone]

I feel like that's a biit high for aqua. It looks to be well cut, however. And good saturation. BUT---do you know the origin? Heated/non-heated? The clarity/saturation make me think its heated, and so Id say that's too much for a heated aqua. .

Labs cannot tell if Aqua is heated or not, so price is dependant on color and Aqua has risen in price because of supply of fine colors and demand.

Many of the newer (last ten years or so) Aqua finds in Africa and Madgascar are known for their fine unheated Aqua. But this is not an absolute.

 

[LIGemzGal]

Was asking if OP knew if it was heated or not. Not whether a lab could detect it. Would think seller would know this bit of information. As most do and disclose it. OP may not even care, but just thought I'd ask since we all know the value of CS is also predicated on that factor. An unheated Aqua with exceptional color is more valuable than one heated with exceptional color.. This generally rings true across the board for most stones, with exceptions, of course

 

[fredflintstone]

Was asking if OP knew if it was heated or not. Not whether a lab could detect it. Would think seller would know this bit of information. As most do and disclose it. OP may not even care, but just thought I'd ask since we all know the value of CS is also predicated on that factor. An unheated Aqua with exceptional color is more valuable than one heated with exceptional color.. This generally rings true across the board for most stones, with exceptions, of course

No. Since it cannot be proven if Aqua has been heated or not, only color qualifies as a price indicator,


I was just stating a lab cannot discern between heated and unheated Aqua. So, heat or no heat has no bearing on price. Only the price put on by a vendor, and any vendor can say Aqua is unheated whether they know or not, and unless they dug it out of the ground, cut and polished it, they have no way of knowing that either.

 

[LIGemzGal]

No. Since it cannot be proven if Aqua has been heated or not, only color qualifies as a price indicator,


I was just stating a lab cannot discern between heated and unheated Aqua. So, heat or no heat has no bearing on price. Only the price put on by a vendor, and any vendor can say Aqua is unheated whether they know or not, and unless they dug it out of the ground, cut and polished it, they have no way of knowing that either.

Yes, labs can tell. They might or might not test for it but heat treatment is discernable as with all stones. However heating aquamarine is an acceptable industry practice to enhance its color someone just acceptitforwhat it is.. But Aquamarine that has great color and saturation and is unheated will be more valuable, and also by region.. Just like any other gemstone. That's facts. So I fail to understand why you feel heat or no heat has no value on aqua. It absolutely does.. And they're priced accordingly however large or small that price differential is.

 

[LIGemzGal]

Found this quite interesting. I imagine a lab would have to detect this change in molecular structure caused by heat.

Beryl : The blue-green variety of Beryl - Aquamarine is a routinely heated gemstone. Color in Aquamarine is caused by iron impurities and it generally has 2 colors – yellow and blue. The 2 colors together make green which is why most unheated aquamarine is a greenish blue color. Heating to approximately 400 degrees centigrade will remove the yellow, leaving just the blue. The change is caused by an alteration in atomic structure, namely F3 molecules becoming F2 molecules.

 

[fredflintstone]

Found this quite interesting. I imagine a lab would have to detect this change in molecular structure caused by heat.

Beryl : The blue-green variety of Beryl - Aquamarine is a routinely heated gemstone. Color in Aquamarine is caused by iron impurities and it generally has 2 colors – yellow and blue. The 2 colors together make green which is why most unheated aquamarine is a greenish blue color. Heating to approximately 400 degrees centigrade will remove the yellow, leaving just the blue. The change is caused by an alteration in atomic structure, namely F3 molecules becoming F2 molecules.

Yes. So, what's your point? That greener Aqua is more expensive?


LOL! Just kidding. There is a reason they heat it, is to make more money. People want blue in Aqua. But...there have been as I wrote finds in Africa and Madgascar that have produced fine blue unheated Aqua that has been documented. As it had optimal heating condition in the ground where it came from.


Much like the Rubellite find in Nigeria in the late 90's that most of the material was such a good color it did not need any treatment. Before then it was known and documented much of the Rubellite from Brazil was heated, even irradiated to produce the bright red color. Brazil was the major producer of Rubellite for years. But just like I said about Aqua, there is no absolutes and Rubellite cannot be discerned if heated, irradiated, or no treatment either.

 

[fredflintstone]

Yes, labs can tell. They might or might not test for it but heat treatment is discernable as with all stones. However heating aquamarine is an acceptable industry practice to enhance its color someone just acceptitforwhat it is.. But Aquamarine that has great color and saturation and is unheated will be more valuable, and also by region.. Just like any other gemstone. That's facts. So I fail to understand why you feel heat or no heat has no value on aqua. It absolutely does.. And they're priced accordingly however large or small that price differential is.

No.

 

[LIGemzGal]

Yes. So, what's your point? That greener Aqua is more expensive?


LOL! Just kidding. There is a reason they heat it, is to make more money. People want blue in Aqua. But...there have been as I wrote finds in Africa and Madgascar that have produced fine blue unheated Aqua that has been documented. As it had optimal heating condition in the ground where it came from.


Much like the Rubellite find in Nigeria in the late 90's that most of the material was such a good color it did not need any treatment. Before then it was known and documented much of the Rubellite from Brazil was heated, even irradiated to produce the bright red color. Brazil was the major producer of Rubellite for years. But just like I said about Aqua, there is no absolutes and Rubellite cannot be discerned if heated, irradiated, or no treatment either.

Thats not my point,, but I digress at this point. And to yout point...I personally like greener aqua. I guess I'm just a sucker for all things natural and untreated/unheated. So thats always a question I ask when it comes to colored gemstones. The stone OP selected looks good regardless. Its just a little pricey for my pockets! But would love to see whats done with it if she does get it.

 

[fredflintstone]

Yes, labs can tell. They might or might not test for it but heat treatment is discernable as with all stones. However heating aquamarine is an acceptable industry practice to enhance its color someone just acceptitforwhat it is.. But Aquamarine that has great color and saturation and is unheated will be more valuable, and also by region.. Just like any other gemstone. That's facts. So I fail to understand why you feel heat or no heat has no value on aqua. It absolutely does.. And they're priced accordingly however large or small that price differential is.

I'll tell you why. The heat is so low to burn the green out of Aqua that it changes nothing of the crystal lattice. Not like Sapphire and Ruby that has to be heated at a much higher temp. Even then, some Sapphire and Ruby is such low heat one lab will say it is heated and the other will say, no heat.