Pass on this Aquamarine or no?

[Hivona]

Hello! I’ve been eyeballing some aquamarines lately & I luuuuuv emerald cut stones so when I saw this one I thought it would be love at first sight. I’m pretty sure it is not a top color aqua & I’m ok with that but I was hoping it would be a little more blue (like the vendor pic), not quite so lightly saturated. I asked for a hand shot & was sent one very quickly! But I opened the email & felt meh. The cut looks nice, the color lacking. The price is considerably higher than I’ve paid for other gems in my small collection so I knew my heart would have to sing for me to get it. I’m just wondering though, is this specimen typical of most aquas on the market as far as color & clarity? Am I passing on a really nice stone or is it meh like I initially felt? Thank you for helping me learn and further my budding colored stone obsession!

 

[gingercurls]

It looks pretty clean to me and I understand why you are drawn to the cut, it is a classic shape for an aquamarine!

That being said, I think that you can do better in terms of the color. This stone looks pale and unexciting.

I have owned two aquamarines. One I commissioned from Jeff White and the other I bought from finewatergems.com. The finewater is the oval stone and the one from Jeff is the cushion cut stone.

I ended up keeping the one from finewater for two reasons. One, the smaller size of the finewater stone made it more manageable for me to imagine setting and wearing. Two, I preferred the pure blue color of the finewater stone over the very slightly greenish blue of the one from Jeff White.

However, both of them are vibrant and do not have any grey, which I definitely see in the stone you are considering.

I would look for an aqua that is medium in saturation and lacking any grey.

 

[Hivona]

It looks pretty clean to me and I understand why you are drawn to the cut, it is a classic shape for an aquamarine!

That being said, I think that you can do better in terms of the color. This stone looks pale and unexciting.

I have owned two aquamarines. One I commissioned from Jeff White and the other I bought from finewatergems.com. The finewater is the oval stone and the one from Jeff is the cushion cut stone.

I ended up keeping the one from finewater for two reasons. One, the smaller size of the finewater stone made it more manageable for me to imagine setting and wearing. Two, I preferred the pure blue color of the finewater stone over the very slightly greenish blue of the one from Jeff White.

However, both of them are vibrant and do not have any grey, which I definitely see in the stone you are considering.

I would look for an aqua that is medium in saturation and lacking any grey.

Thank you Gingercurls for confirming what I was feeling! Those two you posted are GORGEOUS! I do like the pale blues as well, just not for the price this vendor is asking. The vendor described the color as “pure, intense, medium rich blue.” Hmmm I don’t see that. I will keep looking until I find one I can’t live without! There is no rush and always another gem down the road!

 

[Deia]

I think if your first reaction is meh then it’s not the stone for you.

It’s a very pretty stone though, I quite like the icyness of it.

Here’s mine
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-aquamarine-ring.166510/

 

[chrono]

Gorgeous cut, but yes, very light in colour.

 

[daneshpastry]

I love the light colour - it looks like the ocean. I'm totally in love. If I could afford it I would buy that in a heartbeat.

 

[dk168]

I like pale Aquas with a hint of green, and this one does not sing to me personally.

Here are pics of mine from JW, and I love it.

DK

 

[Arkteia]

I have seen many dark-blues aquamarines being sold, but yesterday I wiki'ed aquamarine (for a different reason) and here is the line that made me concerned.

"The deep blue version of aquamarine is called maxixe. Maxixe is commonly found in the country of Madagascar. Its color fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, though the color returns with irradiation.

The pale blue color of aquamarine is attributed to Fe2+. Fe3+ ions produce golden-yellow color, and when both Fe2+ and Fe3+ are present, the color is a darker blue as in maxixe. Decoloration of maxixe by light or heat thus may be due to the charge transfer between Fe3+ and Fe2+.[11][12][13][14] Dark-blue maxixe color can be produced in green, pink or yellow beryl by irradiating it with high-energy particles (gamma rays, neutrons or even X-rays).[15]"

Now this is directly from the Wiki so I assume, public knowledge.

Hence, my question is, when we are buying these incredibly beautiful deep blue aquas, how do we know that they have not been irradiated? Should one even start looking for a deeper blue? Or is clean, bright and light-blue, it is better (less chance of being irradiated)?

(I have two aquas that I bought from someone's collection. The guy bought them in 1992 so I assume they should be kosher. They are not deep-deep blue but pretty clean. I shall stick to them till more is known about irradiation of aquas).

Is there a locale that is safe? How do I deal with love for aquas vs this new knowledge that is slightly disturbing?

 

[chrono]

Digging deep into my brain, I think the irradiation is temporary and it will fade. Labs can detect it but few submit them for testing because most aquamarine aren’t that expensive or unaware of it.

 

[Arkteia]

Digging deep into my brain, I think the irradiation is temporary and it will fade.

Yeah, so the moment my aqua fades, I should rush to the cyclotrone again...

(In other words, my concern is about buying new super-gorgeous dark blue aquas, not about the stones that PS-ers have been wearing).

(BTW, can AGL detect irradiation? I once saw a beautiful emerald, large and no treatment, but did not pull the trigger because of precisely this question. Is it my paranoia? Or, indeed, irradiation of beryls is hard to detect?)

 

[Arkteia]

Not to totally spoil this beautiful thread...
this is an aqua pendant. The stone I bought from Joshua Rioux and I am very happy with it.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/stone-finally-set-new-aquamarine-pendant.228283/

 

[Frost]

For what it’s worth, Tanzanian and Brazilian (Santa Maria) aquas can and do look deep (well, for aquamarine) blue. It’s actually medium toned blue with good saturation. Obviously, this just means that there’s a chance that it might be a natural colour, not that it is or has to be.

 

[T L]

I have seen many dark-blues aquamarines being sold, but yesterday I wiki'ed aquamarine (for a different reason) and here is the line that made me concerned.

"The deep blue version of aquamarine is called maxixe. Maxixe is commonly found in the country of Madagascar. Its color fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, though the color returns with irradiation.

The pale blue color of aquamarine is attributed to Fe2+. Fe3+ ions produce golden-yellow color, and when both Fe2+ and Fe3+ are present, the color is a darker blue as in maxixe. Decoloration of maxixe by light or heat thus may be due to the charge transfer between Fe3+ and Fe2+.[11][12][13][14] Dark-blue maxixe color can be produced in green, pink or yellow beryl by irradiating it with high-energy particles (gamma rays, neutrons or even X-rays).[15]"

Now this is directly from the Wiki so I assume, public knowledge.

Hence, my question is, when we are buying these incredibly beautiful deep blue aquas, how do we know that they have not been irradiated? Should one even start looking for a deeper blue? Or is clean, bright and light-blue, it is better (less chance of being irradiated)?

(I have two aquas that I bought from someone's collection. The guy bought them in 1992 so I assume they should be kosher. They are not deep-deep blue but pretty clean. I shall stick to them till more is known about irradiation of aquas).

Is there a locale that is safe? How do I deal with love for aquas vs this new knowledge that is slightly disturbing?

The ones that fade are irradiated, and the treatment is therefore not stable. Also one needs to buy from a reputable dealer. I saw the most convincing synthetic medium light blue aqua at the last gen show I visited.

 

[chatoyancy]

The pendant on the left was purchased about 17 years ago. The stone on the right was purchased last year. It’s not the trade ideal, but it’s my ideal. I also have a ring to match the pendant and pair of earrings in between these colors, but I need to take them to a jeweler to clean because my attempts have been futile.

 

[chatoyancy]

Hello! I’ve been eyeballing some aquamarines lately & I luuuuuv emerald cut stones so when I saw this one I thought it would be love at first sight. I’m pretty sure it is not a top color aqua & I’m ok with that but I was hoping it would be a little more blue (like the vendor pic), not quite so lightly saturated. I asked for a hand shot & was sent one very quickly! But I opened the email & felt meh. The cut looks nice, the color lacking. The price is considerably higher than I’ve paid for other gems in my small collection so I knew my heart would have to sing for me to get it. I’m just wondering though, is this specimen typical of most aquas on the market as far as color & clarity? Am I passing on a really nice stone or is it meh like I initially felt? Thank you for helping me learn and further my budding colored stone obsession!

I think the cut is so pretty. It’s a pretty stone. Is the aquamarine not bright enough in hand?

 

[LilAlex]

I like it. I like the cut -- the number or angle of the step cuts on the pavilion so there's no windowing. It's one of the prettier emerald-cut aquas that I've seen and I can't quite put my finger on it. I like that it's mostly blue. I agree that it's at least a little undersaturated -- and the gold and flesh tones in the photo lead me to believe that it'll be even less saturated when you see it in person.

 

[Arkteia]

The pendant on the left was purchased about 17 years ago. The stone on the right was purchased last year. It’s not the trade ideal, but it’s my ideal. I also have a ring to match the pendant and pair of earrings in between these colors, but I need to take them to a jeweler to clean because my attempts have been futile.

Amazing!

 

[chatoyancy]

Amazing!

Thank you! My husband is going to set the loose stone for our 20th anniversary in 2019.

 

[Nosean]

Maxixe have a different color compared to very fine St. Maria aquas and many fade.

There are some deeper colored stones from Madagascar too but the color is often ugly.

Be careful - there are synthetic aquas ( Tairus) with a deeper color - light color would be uneconomical. So not the long time used synthetic spinel - it is synthetic beryl.

 

[Hivona]

I think if your first reaction is meh then it’s not the stone for you.

It’s a very pretty stone though, I quite like the icyness of it.

Here’s mine
https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-new-aquamarine-ring.166510/

Deia that is an awesome gem and I love that setting!!!! It is so unique, I've never seen a "rope" halo?! Super cool!

 

[Hivona]

I like pale Aquas with a hint of green, and this one does not sing to me personally.

Here are pics of mine from JW, and I love it.

DK

DK that is out of this world gorgeous! I think that is kind of what I was hoping for, except not greenish but light blue. I would take one like yours any day though, it is amazing! And I love emerald cut sooooo much! Thank you for sharing your stone, I will def use it as inspiration!

 

[Hivona]

I think the cut is so pretty. It’s a pretty stone. Is the aquamarine not bright enough in hand?

Another poster noted the grey in it and I think that is what is killing the vibe for me and causing me to feel meh. I forgot to add that it is 3.11ct and a wee bit over $1400. That is a little more than double what I have paid for my most expensive gem at this point in my small collection. I feel that I need to love it for that kind of money and I'm not feeling the love.

From what I have read the trade likes darker blues and I've seen a few on PS that are beautiful but I think I like the lighter, pastel ones, as they look so much like calm, clear water to me when in an emerald cut. There is no rush for me to purchase any gem so I know to keep looking. I was just wondering if this was a typical look for aquas and if I was passing a truly superb stone. I appreciate the responses for this post!

 

[chatoyancy]

Another poster noted the grey in it and I think that is what is killing the vibe for me and causing me to feel meh. I forgot to add that it is 3.11ct and a wee bit over $1400. That is a little more than double what I have paid for my most expensive gem at this point in my small collection. I feel that I need to love it for that kind of money and I'm not feeling the love.

From what I have read the trade likes darker blues and I've seen a few on PS that are beautiful but I think I like the lighter, pastel ones, as they look so much like calm, clear water to me when in an emerald cut. There is no rush for me to purchase any gem so I know to keep looking. I was just wondering if this was a typical look for aquas and if I was passing a truly superb stone. I appreciate the responses for this post!

I think this cut is well above average, but the color would be very easy to find elsewhere. Aquamarine starts to get expensive above 3 carats. They also have a pretty low specific gravity, so you don’t need to go big to get a bigger look. That is a lot of money to spend on something you don’t love.