Aquamarine: Finding the gems that will give you rewards

Aquamarine is an iconic gem belonging to the same family that also features Green Emerald. Officially ranked as the birthstone for those born in March, Aquamarine gemstone has a glassy lustre and a sea-water hue. But are you aware that there are thousands of duplicate gemstone items that flood the market each year, and remain untraced. So how should one find and buy authentic Aquamarine.

Aquamarine Beads

Here’s what you should do.

Research about famous Aquamarine:

Aquamarines are found as large stones that need cutting and polishing. Most of the naturally mined gems are either opaque or too dull to be used for profitable application. You must do a little research on the world famous Aquamarines.

Dom Pedro:  Officially, Dom Pedro is the largest single piece cut-gem Aquamarine and falls in the category of rarest of rare natural items ever mined from the Earth’s crust. Named after the first two Brazilian emperors, Dom Pedro now stands as 14 inches in the shape of obelisk. It was cut from its 23.25 inches glory by gem artist Bernd Munsteiner.

The Hirsch: It is a 109.02 carat gemstone featuring an emerald-cut. It was one of the first non-treated gemstone to be exhibited all over the world. It was set in 18k gold bracket and diamonds by French Emperor Louis XV.

The Schlumberger Bow: Currently ownedby the Field Museumof Natural History- Chicago, “The Schlumberger Bow” is set in platinum and gold pin along with diamonds. It is a 148.5 carat aquamarine designed for Tiffany. It was first exhibited in the year 1893.

Roosevelt Aquamarine: Gifted to First Lady of USA, Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in 1935, the gemstone is one of the largest naturally extracted aquamarines to be ever mined. It weighs 1847 carat. It was cut from a 1.3 kilogram stone of which a single 835 carat aquamarine was gifted to the Maharaja of Kapurthala.

The leading suppliers of aquamarine gemstone beads are Australia, China, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Radiant gems still come from Santa Maria mines in Brazil. So it is not all about the volume, but also about the position Brazil commands in Aquamarine gem market.

Aquamarine Gemstone Beads


How to identify the originality:

# Aquamarine Colour

Aquamarine can exhibit multiple shades of blue, variedly or consistently. It all depends on the amount of chromium and iron ions in the crystal lattice. The popular shades are light blue, deep blue,blue-green and green-blue. The cost of aquamarines isdecided on the basis of the shade saturation and consistency.

# Aquamarine Clarity/Lustre

Deep blue shades are costlier, only if they have a lustrous, crystal clear appearance. Some gems however can have rods running parallel seen like veins and inclusions. Aquamarine can show multiple optical characteristics like chatoyancy and asterism.


# Aquamarine Cut and Shape

Aquamarine gems are cut in cabochon, but faceted cuts also hold significant place in collections. They are perfect for emerald cuts and square cuts. Emerald step-cut and Fancy Cuts are hard to manage, but they are popular among aristocrats as they were before World War II.