Its light blue arouses feelings of sympathy, trust,
harmony and friendship. Good feelings. Feelings which are based on
mutuality and which prove their worth in lasting relationships. The
blue of aquamarine is a divine, eternal colour, because it is the
colour of the sky. However, aquamarine blue is also the colour of
water with its life-giving force. And aquamarine really does seem
to have captured the lucid blue of the oceans. No wonder, when you
consider that according to the saga it originated in the treasure
chest of fabulous mermaids, and has, since ancient times, been regarded
as the sailors' lucky stone. Its name is derived from the Latin 'aqua'
(water) and 'mare' (sea). It is said that its strengths are developed
to their best advantage when it is placed in water which is bathed
in sunlight. However, it is surely better still to wear aquamarine,
since according to the old traditions this promises a happy marriage
and is said to bring the woman who wears it joy and wealth into the
bargain. An ideal gem, not only for loving and married couples.
A gemstone
with many good qualities
Aquamarine is one of our most popular and best-known
gemstones, and distinguishes itself by many good qualities. It is
almost as popular as the classics: ruby, sapphire and emerald. In
fact it is related to the emerald, both belonging to the beryl family.
The colour of aquamarine, however, is usually more even than that
of the emerald. Much more often than its famous green cousin, aquamarine
is almost entirely free of inclusions. Aquamarine has good hardness
(7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale) and a wonderful shine. That hardness
makes it very tough and protects it to a large extent from scratches.
Iron is the substance which gives aquamarine its colour, a colour
which ranges from an almost indiscernible pale blue to a strong sea-blue.
The more intense the colour of an aquamarine, the more value is put
on it. Some aquamarines have a light, greenish shimmer; that too is
a typical feature. However, it is a pure, clear blue that continues
to epitomise the aquamarine, because it brings out so well the immaculate
transparency and magnificent shine of this gemstone.
'Santa
Maria' sets pulses racing
The
bright blue of this noble beryl is making more and more friends. The
various colour nuances of aquamarine have melodious names: the rare,
intense blue aquamarines from the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Brazil,
which make every gemstone lover's heart beat faster, are called 'Santa
Maria'. Similar nuances come from a few gemstone mines in Africa,
particularly Mozambique. To help distinguish them from the Brazilian
ones, these aquamarines have been given the name 'Santa Maria Africana'.
The 'Espirito Santo' colour of aquamarines from the Brazilian state
of that name is of a blue that is not quite so intense. Yet other
qualities are embodied in the stones from Fortaleza and Marambaia.
One beautiful aquamarine colour was named after the Brazilian beauty
queen of 1954, and has the name 'Martha Rocha'.
It can be seen from the names of aquamarine colours
just how important Brazil is among the countries where aquamarine
is found. Most of the raw crystals for the world market come from
the gemstone mines of that large South American country. Every now
and then, large aquamarine crystals of immaculate transparency are
also found with a magnificent colour, a combination which is very
unusual in gemstones. And very occasionally, sensationally large aquamarine
crystals come to light in Brazil, such as the crystal of 110.5 Kg
found in 1910 in Marambaia/Minas Gerais, or for example the 'Dom Pedro',
weighing 26 Kg and cut in Idar-Oberstein in 1992 by the gemstone designer
Bernd Munsteiner, the largest aquamarine ever to have been cut. However,
aquamarines are also found in other countries, for example Nigeria,
Zambia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Favourite
stone of modern designers
There is hardly
any other gemstone in modern jewellery design which is refined in
such a variety of ways as aquamarine. Whether it is fashioned as a
clear, transparent gem in the classical step cut, or creatively cut
in a more modern design, it is always fascinatingly beautiful. Uncut
too, or with many inclusions which can be brought into play by the
designer in the way in which the stone is cut, it can be refined to
produce the most beautiful creations. Designers call it their favourite
gemstone. Again and again they take the world by surprise with a new,
modern artistic cut, and when they are breaking new ground, aquamarine
is a gem that they particularly like to work with. Without doubt,
these creative designer cuts have contributed to the great popularity
of this gem. The lucid colour of aquamarine makes it easy to see inclusions.
For this reason, aquamarine should always be of the greatest possible
transparency. On the other hand, particularly charming effects can
sometimes be achieved in the way the gemstone is cut by bringing the
inclusions into play. The light colour of aquamarine leaves the gemstone
designer free to bring out the brilliance of the gem with fine grooves,
notches, curves and edges. In this way, each aquamarine becomes a
unique specimen, whose magical attraction no woman can resist.
International Colored Gemstone Association
Art,
Passion, and Life
