The Story of Aquamarine

Submitted By: Dale Arnold

Aquamarine is a light blue gemstone that was discovered around two thousand years ago. The name of stone has its origins in the Latin language. It is a combination of “aqua” – which means “water” and “mare” with translates to “sea” in Latin. The Greeks are credited with the first use of aquamarine for jewelry around the fourth or fifth century BC. From here, aquamarine spread around the world along established trade routes. As time passed, the popularity of aquamarine increased, and peaked around the seventeenth century. When it comes to jewelry applications, the color of aquamarine has won the hearts of jewelry aficionados around the world. This is because the light blue color of the stone is quite neutral and as such, can be easily matched with all skin tones and eye colors. In fact, the color is so very mild that it is often used in jewelry and ornaments for babies and young children. Light colored stones can sometimes be heat treated to intensify their colors. In most cases, the change in color is permanent. One interesting note about aquamarine – it is found in nature in crystalline as well as in glassy or amorphous forms. The glassy form is often found in odd shapes, some with holes in them.
Jewelry designers prefer to use stones that have an intense and deep color. Stones that have tinges of yellow and brown are considered to be less valuable and less desirable compared to specimens with a pure blue color. One disadvantage of the light color of this stone is that flaws are readily apparent even to an inexperienced observer. Stones that contain flaws such as inclusions and fracture planes are not as valuable as flawless specimens. Cutting and polishing aquamarine specimens are relatively easy and therefore easy to work into a wide range of jewelry designs and patterns. Aquamarine is almost always cut with facets for jewelry applications.
Aquamarine is mined in various countries around the world. However, Brazil is undisputed leader in aquamarine production – both in terms of the quality of specimens found here as well as the volume to aquamarine supplied to markets around the world. Among the notable finds in this country are the stunning 200-lb specimen found near Marambaia, and the 50- plus pound Dom Pedro. African countries such as Nigeria, Zambia, Madagascar, and Mozambique are also important producers of aquamarine. Mozambique in particular quite often produces specimens that are said to rival the best specimens found in the Brazilian mines. On the Asian continent, India, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have some aquamarine producing mines. However, the quality of Asian aquamarine is moderate at best, and is often only suited for costume or fashion jewelry applications. The United States of America is a relatively small producer on the world scene, even though this stone is found in several states around the country. Specimens from Massachusetts deserve special mention because the blue color of these stones is so intense that they are often compared to sapphires. One negative aspect of American specimens is that are usually small in size and difficult to process.

Published At: Isnare.com