Aqua Love

[klewis]

With all the amazing different neon, vivid, fluorescent (loud?) coloured gems about I have wondered if I would become "deaf" to the more subtle coloured stones.

I once thought I'd like an aquamarine, but when I started looking around there was nothing that appealed - that was a year ago and last night I saw this one which I think looks just amazing - What do you think?
I'm not planning on buying it, I just wanted to show you.

 

[mochi]

Oh..I love it!! Amazing how strong the blue is for a aqua. The cut is just spectacular. Are you going to get it, Klewis??

 

[klewis]

Mochi - I'm not buying it, I've no gem funds right now although I'd love to see how it measures up irl.

 

[minousbijoux]

I think you should get it!!! Who cut that gorgeous thing? That is truly art

 

[minousbijoux]

I had to go back and look again. It is really amazing. I think of aquas as sort of insipid (sorry all you aqua lovers), but that just takes it to a whole new level. Absolutely perfect.

 

[VapidLapid]

that is a huge stone at 38 carats and it's mass helps with the color's depth.

 

[klewis]

that is a huge stone at 38 carats and it's mass helps with the color's depth.

38.67 carats, but I'm splitting hairs. Yes I thought the size was a contributing factor to the great colour.

 

[klewis]

I think you should get it!!! Who cut that gorgeous thing? That is truly art

It cut by John Dyer Gems. At 38.67 carats it's a collectors piece I think.

 

[jstarfireb]

That's a really nice one! I'm not typically a fan of aqua, but I do have an appreciation for some other pale gemstones.

 

[klewis]

that is a huge stone at 38 carats and it's mass helps with the color's depth.

38.67 carats, but I'm splitting hairs. Yes I thought the size was a contributing factor to the great colour.

OK here's a smaller one 1.47 carats- not quite as good, but a great colour never-the-less, and more in my price range. I see neither of these are heated!

 

[chrono]

That’s a gorgeous aquamarine and something that I wouldn’t mind owning myself. Yes, the larger size will help with deepening the colour and saturation. Really nice for the smaller one, especially as it is unheated.

 

[T L]

Klewis,
To be honest, the fact that it's photographed against a dark background really enhances the color and brightness I think. I've seen more saturated aquas, but the cutting is beautiful, no doubt. For me, aquas that are expensive, are a waste of money. I would rather buy another type of gem.

 

[violet3]

stunning and i love the cut too!

 

[klewis]

Klewis,
To be honest, the fact that it's photographed against a dark background really enhances the color and brightness I think. I've seen more saturated aquas, but the cutting is beautiful, no doubt. For me, aquas that are expensive, are a waste of money. I would rather buy another type of gem.

I agree with you regarding the dark background. I love blue against a dark background


I think this large cabochon is definitely colour enhanced .

 

[klewis]

My understanding is that heating aquamarine drives off the green, so a general question here - is there any improvement to colour if a stone that shows little or no green in the first place were to be heated?

 

[T L]

My understanding is that heating aquamarine drives off the green, so a general question here - is there any improvement to colour if a stone that shows little or no green in the first place were to be heated?

It's a matter of personal taste. Greenish blue aquas can lack saturation as well. Heated stones can still be desaturated, in fact, all the heating does is drive off the green component. I actually prefer a little green in my aqua, and the more pure blues, or sky blues are pretty meh to me.

Here's my minty beryl with a stronger green component, and cut pretty similar to the John Dyer gem above. It's also precision cut, just to give you an idea. I prefer this color more than any aqua I have seen, and I have quite a few aquas myself. However, it's a matter of personal taste 4.5 carats.

 

[Michael_E]

My understanding is that heating aquamarine drives off the green, so a general question here - is there any improvement to colour if a stone that shows little or no green in the first place were to be heated?

Heating in aquamarine changes the valence state of the electrons in the iron atoms and causes the green to be converted to blue. It doesn't get rid of color, it changes it and makes the blue more intense. If a stone shows no green, then heating it won't have any effect. In aquamarine the only way to know if it's been heated is to see an internal inclusion which would have been affected by heating. If there are no inclusions, then it isn't possible to tell if it's been heated.

 

[Arkteia]

I think that in the XIX - early XX century green-blue was desirable color of aquamarines, but then green became undesirable? Strange, because I like green-blue like seawater.

 

[T L]

I think that in the XIX - early XX century green-blue was desirable color of aquamarines, but then green became undesirable? Strange, because I like green-blue like seawater.

The greenish blues are getting more pricey now. They are becoming fashionable again. Eh, I rather have a greenish blue, that way it looks less like an icky blue topaz.

 

[Lovinggems]

Here's another gorgeous aqua, definitely belong in a museum, but still within reach of a keen collector.

I prefer green-blue aquas too but if anyone wants to send me this one I won't reject it.

 

[T L]

Here's another gorgeous aqua, definitely belong in a museum, but still within reach of a keen collector.

I prefer green-blue aquas too but if anyone wants to send me this one I won't reject it.

And to me, that looks like an enormous piece of blue topaz, or blue glass, take your pick.

Sorry, I'm the aqua party pooper.

 

[T L]

The earth kind of reminds me of an opal.

 

[Lovinggems]

Here's another gorgeous aqua, definitely belong in a museum, but still within reach of a keen collector.

I prefer green-blue aquas too but if anyone wants to send me this one I won't reject it.

And to me, that looks like an enormous piece of blue topaz, or blue glass, take your pick.

Sorry, I'm the aqua party pooper.

No need to be sorry, it's not on my purchase list, even if I had that kind of budget.
It does look like a blue topaz, but if it's an untreated topaz it'll still be rather valuable? The shape is elegant though.

 

[T L]

I actually like the aqua in Gene's (precisiongem) avatar. It's one of the most saturated aquas I've ever seen, and one of the best cut.

 

[klewis]

My understanding is that heating aquamarine drives off the green, so a general question here - is there any improvement to colour if a stone that shows little or no green in the first place were to be heated?

Heating in aquamarine changes the valence state of the electrons in the iron atoms and causes the green to be converted to blue. It doesn't get rid of color, it changes it and makes the blue more intense. If a stone shows no green, then heating it won't have any effect. In aquamarine the only way to know if it's been heated is to see an internal inclusion which would have been affected by heating. If there are no inclusions, then it isn't possible to tell if it's been heated.

Thank you for that Micheal.
If the rough has been heated, do you have any indication of this by the state of the rough? So does the appearance of the rough change in any tell-tale way after heating?

 

[klewis]

My understanding is that heating aquamarine drives off the green, so a general question here - is there any improvement to colour if a stone that shows little or no green in the first place were to be heated?

It's a matter of personal taste. Greenish blue aquas can lack saturation as well. Heated stones can still be desaturated, in fact, all the heating does is drive off the green component. I actually prefer a little green in my aqua, and the more pure blues, or sky blues are pretty meh to me.

Here's my minty beryl with a stronger green component, and cut pretty similar to the John Dyer gem above. It's also precision cut, just to give you an idea. I prefer this color more than any aqua I have seen, and I have quite a few aquas myself. However, it's a matter of personal taste 4.5 carats.

I quite like a some green in aquamarine too. Yours, which is nice, shows a little too much for my taste.
I realize now too that heating will not necessarily produce a more saturated colour - thanks for pointing that out
yep, I agree with you about some of those deeper blues looking a bit 'toxic" - although my taste is based on photos, having never seen them irl so, so far colour-wise, my favourite is the big 38.67er. I think I'll take it - yeah right!

 

[m76steve]

an aquamarine unheated in pendent at 12 cts-steve...

 

[T L]

My understanding is that heating aquamarine drives off the green, so a general question here - is there any improvement to colour if a stone that shows little or no green in the first place were to be heated?

It's a matter of personal taste. Greenish blue aquas can lack saturation as well. Heated stones can still be desaturated, in fact, all the heating does is drive off the green component. I actually prefer a little green in my aqua, and the more pure blues, or sky blues are pretty meh to me.

Here's my minty beryl with a stronger green component, and cut pretty similar to the John Dyer gem above. It's also precision cut, just to give you an idea. I prefer this color more than any aqua I have seen, and I have quite a few aquas myself. However, it's a matter of personal taste 4.5 carats.

I quite like a some green in aquamarine too. Yours, which is nice, shows a little too much for my taste.
I realize now too that heating will not necessarily produce a more saturated colour - thanks for pointing that out
yep, I agree with you about some of those deeper blues looking a bit 'toxic" - although my taste is based on photos, having never seen them irl so, so far colour-wise, my favourite is the big 38.67er. I think I'll take it - yeah right!

My stone is classified as a green beryl, and not an aqua because I believe aquas have to be colored by iron. The lapidary I bought it from told me it was from a region of Africa (I forget where in Africa) where there are light minty green beryls colored by chromium. Technically, some people may call my stone a very light toned emerald, but I think that's a stretch considering the tone is so light. I just wanted to show you because it's pretty much almost identical to the JD cut above, and it's greener. I enjoy that stone, and wear it far more than my very blue aquas. Here's my deepest blue aqua, which is 8 carats, and I rarely wear (the ugly setting doesn't help either). I bought it almost 20 years ago. Aquas are one of the few gemstones that are really valued by tone instead of saturation, so basically, it doesn't matter how much grey they have, the darker they are, the more valuable.

 

[T L]

This is a brooch belonging to HM, the Queen given to her as a state gift by Brazil when she visited there. This is pretty much ideal color for aqua. She has a bracelet, ring, earings, huge necklace, and tiara to go with this.

 

[movie zombie]

the ideal color for aqua changes with the times and even whether in EU or the US. i've read recently that europeans now prefer a greener blue aqua. in the US the desired aqua remains blue Blue BLUE. what is popular today may not be the desired color years from now.

MoZo