For fun, do you think this is really an aqua?

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

My mom was at an antique store today and found this ring (being sold by an estate on consignment). She was told it was a 5 to 6 carat aquamarine. She said it is mostly blue, but "like tropical waters" in color. Was $500, marked down to $250. She was going to buy it for me, but I told her at that price, it's probably topaz.... opinions? (I only have the one cell phone photo she sent.)

 

[Bluegemz]

Hmmm, my guess would be aqua because the topazes which I’ve seen of that color tend to look brighter...second guess would be topaz though. Maybe a natural blue one, but then again, that would be a strong natural blue. This is hard!

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

She left it there (on my advice,) but now I'm wondering if that might have been a great deal??!! The antique store is in a wealthy area.

She also said it was very sparkly, grabbed her attention.

 

[Bron357]

Impossible to tell by eyes alone. A Presidium gem tester can be used as a starting point (Aquas have a lower heat transfer so can be separated from Topaz that way) it will also say if it’s glass ie CZ.
But, it could also be thermally treated quartz which is too similar in heat transfer rate to distinguish from genuine aqua. This is a trap the unwary can fall into. So then you need other tools, a Loupe for inclusions etc.
At $250 in 14kt gold, it’s still a good price for a blue topaz but not so much for a treated quartz or CZ.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

She lives hours from me, and is even more of a gem novice than I am . You think she should buy it? But, hmm, I really don't want a topaz . A huge aqua, well, sure!

 

[T L]

To me, it’s impossible to tell for sure from a blurry photo. It’s also against a black background, so it could be a super pale aqua, and therefore worth very little. The black enhances the color.

 

[Bron357]

If you Mum knows what double refraction looks like with a Loupe you can use that to differentiate, Topaz is doubly refractive while aqua isn’t BUT treated quartz is also singly refractive. So that might be the harder question.

 

[T L]

Or it could be synthetic spinel or corundum.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

To me, it’s impossible to tell for sure from a blurry photo. It’s also against a black background, so it could be a super pale aqua, and therefore worth very little. The black enhances the color.

My mom, bless her, takes the worst photos. I'll ask her about the saturation. I don't think a pale stone would have caught her eye.

 

[T L]

If it’s a more saturated blue, with very little gray, I’d be suspect of blue topaz.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

Mom sent me this online pic of an aqua she found, said the stone today was this color in real life. Said was not pale, and more blue than green. Wish I could see it in person!

 

[arkieb1]

Could also be a blue zircon, a topaz, a synthetic stone of some type or you might get lucky and it could be an Aquamarine, none of us can 100% say for sure without either much better photos or seeing it in person and/or testing it with a gem tester.

What K gold was it set in? If it's 9K, 10K or even 14K it's much more likely to be a synthetic or a topaz, 18K you could get lucky, although you can find Aquamarines set in 14K too.

 

[T L]

Here’s my 18k white gold retro aqua ring if you want to compare what a real aqua looks like. They do have different luster, refraction and appearance than blue topaz. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve seen a zillion aquas.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

@T L Lthat's gorgeous! I'm afraid I've only seen "mawl" quality aqua in real life, (the pale to old coke bottle color kind) & I've never owned one. I won't be very shocked if she goes back and gets it anyway, she loved it and thought it was perfect for me. That's just how she rolls.

 

[T L]

@T L Lthat's gorgeous! I'm afraid I've only seen "mawl" quality aqua in real life, (the pale to old coke bottle color kind) & I've never owned one. I won't be very shocked if she goes back and gets it anyway, she loved it and thought it was perfect for me. That's just how she rolls.

Thank you! My mom paid $800 for it...30 years ago, and it was an amazing deal back then. I convinced her to get it, and then I inherited it, It seems your mom loves those “great deals” too.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

@T L its funny, but my mom was never really interested in jewelry before, but I seem to be influencing her. She used to eye roll when I wanted to look at jewelry somewhere, but now she's out looking at it on her own!

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

My mom was at an antique store today and found this ring (being sold by an estate on consignment). She was told it was a 5 to 6 carat aquamarine. She said it is mostly blue, but "like tropical waters" in color. Was $500, marked down to $250. She was going to buy it for me, but I told her at that price, it's probably topaz.... opinions? (I only have the one cell phone photo she sent.)

ive brought way less impressive rings for more
its quite spectacular no matter what it is
get mom to go back and get it before its gone
JMHO

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Here’s my 18k white gold retro aqua ring if you want to compare what a real aqua looks like. They do have different luster, refraction and appearance than blue topaz. It’s hard to describe unless you’ve seen a zillion aquas.

what a beautiful gallary
that stone is magnificent

 

[MissyBeaucoup]

My mom was at an antique store today and found this ring (being sold by an estate on consignment). She was told it was a 5 to 6 carat aquamarine. She said it is mostly blue, but "like tropical waters" in color. Was $500, marked down to $250. She was going to buy it for me, but I told her at that price, it's probably topaz.... opinions? (I only have the one cell phone photo she sent.)

I love the cutting. It’s pretty, whatever it is!

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

@MissyBeaucoup my mom is no gem expert, but she did say she thought the cut was good . It's a heart shaped, not something I would normally look at, but the heart is subtle so I actually kinda like it. She said the setting was well done, too- and substantial and heavy.
I'm feeling kind of bad that I talked her out of it now-no matter what it really is- it would be nice to wear something that she picked out for me.

 

[LD]

My gut feeling is that it's not an Aqua and that's mainly because of the combination of size/cut and colour. However, it's impossible to be sure. If you know somebody who has a gem tester then getting an RI would be helpful as it would rule out stones it could be and potentially rule some in. It won't give you a definitive answer but you'd get closer!

 

[T L]

My gut feeling is that it's not an Aqua and that's mainly because of the combination of size/cut and colour. However, it's impossible to be sure. If you know somebody who has a gem tester then getting an RI would be helpful as it would rule out stones it could be and potentially rule some in. It won't give you a definitive answer but you'd get closer!

Hey LD!!!

 

[Deathspi]

Bron, quartz and aqua are DR. Aqua has birefringence of 0.005-0.009. As I’m sure you well know, Christy could use a polariscope to separate aqua/topaz from glass & spinel since they are isotopic.

Very surprised a Chelsea filter hasn’t been mentioned since it’s pretty cheap and is a great way to indicate what is aqua and what is topaz.

This page has a few good points on how to distinguish aqua from other blues, and I was surprised to see a photo from Gene there!

http://gemologyproject.com/wiki/index.php?title=Aquamarine

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

@CHRISTY-DANIELLE has mum been back to the shop yet ?
the suspense is killing me

 

[Nick_G]

If that really is an aquamarine then $250 would be a steal!

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

@CHRISTY-DANIELLE has mum been back to the shop yet ?
the suspense is killing me

Well, she told me she was looking at it as a gift for my bday in a couple weeks. I got back to her and told her if it's truly aqua, it's a good deal. The seller told her it was authentic. But, of course they would(!) If she pulled a typical mom, she went back and bought it, but will be silent about it til my bday. But secretly, I'm like: did she buy it? Is it glass?
I was kind of hoping someone here would throw out a simple, on the fly, way to test the stone when one finds themself randomly at a shop, being offered an " aqua", no loupe or spectrascope on hand.

 

[T L]

Will they return it if you test it and it’s not an aqua? You could probably bring it to any local gemologist.

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

Well she bought it! Said when she went back again, she still loved it and still wanted to buy it for me, no matter what it turns out to be. (To be continued... )
Today's photo from mom:

 

[T L]

For $250, aqua or no aqua, that’s a hefty gold setting. It’s a great deal no matter what. It looks great on her. I hope she enjoys it!

 

[CHRISTY-DANIELLE]

@TL she bought it as a gift for me, so I'm getting a blue chunk of mystery for my b-day. It'll be fun to get it and figure out what it is!