What is a Aqumarine?

Aquamarine is important beryl gemstone depends for its color on iron. Its value is much less than emerald, another beryl family gemstone. It is often found in large clear crystals that may weight many pounds. The largest appears to have come from Brazil in 1910. It weighted 243 pounds and was perfectly transparent throughout its length.



The value of aquamarine depends on the depth of their blue color and most stones are now in fact heat treated. This is not necessary in the case of the best-quality stones. Among natural stones aquamarine is most easily confused with blue topaz, which is, however, much paler as a rule, or with blue tourmaline. It differs from both of these in its refractive index, density and birefringence. Aquamarine is not synthesized but is imitated by blue syntheticspinel from which it differs markedly in the constants just mentioned. Synthetic blue spinel is also usually colored with cobalt which gives it a different tint of blue from natural aquamarine and makes it appear red under the emerald filter while aquamarine looks green.