I''d like to know more about aquamarine

[dbgaap]

I saw two colors of rough (only in a pic) and the darker blue was so pretty.

I have always loved aquamarine (it is my birthstone) and I am planning to get one to be set in my yellow gold original e-ring. My diamond has taken up residence in a new solitaire setting.

Can anyone tell me more about the durability, the desirability of differennt colors, anything else interesting?
Thanks!!!

 

[belle]

here''s a good place to start:

http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/aquamarine.html

 

[innerkitten]

All I know is it''s a beryl ( like an emerald) , mohs scale 7.5, and I think it''s usually heated.

 

[movie zombie]

yep, heated. rarely not heated. but its been that way for a long long time and its not a bad thing. not as fragile as an emerald but it can certainly chip and/or fracture if struck the wrong way....but then even a diamond can chip and/or fracture if abused.

some like greener aqua some like bluer....right now bluer is considered ideal. in either case, avoidance of a ''gray mask'' is a sign of good color.

according to richard wise, fine aquamarine is rarer than fine emerald. for more information see his website: rwwise.com he''s definitely HIGH end for stones but you can learn a lot by looking at the stones at his website and reading what he has to say. i can also vouch for working with him long distance to review stones.

i, too, have aqua as my birthstone. i''m torn between the really blue color [as at richard''s website] or a greener color as the greener color if strong is lovely also. what turns me off to most stones i see, though, is that gray masking of the color which i find very very unattractive.

also, too many stones [blue or green] for sale have almost no saturation and look like tinted glass. another big issue for me is cut: i don''t like windowing at all.

movie zombie