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 Post subject: aquamarine
PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:02 am 
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well, i hope this is the right place.
i'm new to jewellery in general. and my birthstone is aquamarine and let me tell you its hard to find the exact colour i want. aka not so washed out off coloured "diamond".
my friend has inherited her family heirloom and it turns out to be this beautiful shade of aquamarine. and was appraised for 4000$!!! so i decided to start my own with an aquamarine. however, i want my ring to be custom made. so i need your help!!!
1. what is the most expensive aquamarine cut?
2. what coloured aquamarine will not look so washed out against white gold & diamonds?
3. any recommendations on where i can purchase loose aquamarine stones in toronto or london ontario??

*mods please move if in the wrong place*


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:32 am 
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jennzy,

Many folks consider Santa Maria (Brazil) aqua to be the best color. Lately there have been finds in Africa of that and darker blue aqua, especially in the smaller sizes.

I don't know about stores in Toronto or London (U of Waterloo, right?) but you can see some good colored stones for sale online, including here:

http://www.ajsgems.com/catalog/aquamarine.aspx

and, for African stones, here:

http://www.africagems.com/aquamarine.html

Strange as it may seem, some aqua has the problem of looking just like some colors of blue topaz, which may or may not be a problem to you.

To my eye, the new African stones and true Santa Maria color don't have this problem.

As in most types of gemstones with the light saturation that aqua generally has, often large stones have better color appearance than smaller stones. It can be harder to find small stones with good color than medium or large.

There is a lot of aqua out there that is so lightly saturated that it should be called Goshenite, uncolored beryl.

There is also a quite rare blue beryl found only in northern Canada that was discovered only in the last few years, I think as the result of diamond explorations. I don't know where any could be found, or the cost, but the pictures I have seen are of a brilliant blue, of a hue closer to sapphire than traditional aqua.

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 11:34 am 
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jenzzy,

A great place for one of a kind custom cut jewels is Precision Gem. I find all of his stones to be quite remarkable and most of his aquamarines are a beautiful color, unlike some of the washed out stones you can find on the net.

http://www.precisiongem.com/html/aquamarine.html

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 12:11 pm 
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Jenzzy, you won't any one cut more expensive than another, other than maybe a concave or fantasy type cut, since these take longer. However certain types of cuts can help deepen the color on an aqua.
Here are an aqua that I cut and sold using concave facets.


Image

This one is from Mozambique Africa

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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:57 pm 
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hey everyone! thanks sooooo much for the information! i'm so glad i found this forum.
the whole reason i want to purchase it in person is mainly due to safety of the stone. plus, i have the worst luck with cdn customs.

pretty much what i'm looking for is a ring that will increase in value as the time go by.

also ive noticed that a lot of the webs given sell 2+carat. i don't think i'd want anything bigger than 1 carat. actually, to be honest i don't even know how big 1 carat is :S (i just know thats how big my engagement ring's gotta be :P) i'm really loving the santa maria colour. i've done some google research. i find the ones from africa, often most look closer to lighter blue topaz or blue sapphir. iw ant ppl to see it and be like that's an aquamarine not is that blue topaz?

i really like the star cut from this web: http://www.precisiongem.com/html/aquamarine.html
like going back to the value thing, will fancy cuts like that increase the value of the jewellery or does the value decrease after the "fancy" cuts are out? and what are the other fancy cuts???

i really think what i should first do is design a ring then find the stone. because there are so many different shapes, i don't even know what kind of stone i should buy!!! (to be honest, i want all :P)

anyone have pretty aquamarine ring pics??? :D


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PostPosted: Sat Dec 15, 2007 10:58 pm 
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p.s i forgot to mention,
what does i tmean when the stone's been treated and untreated


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 3:38 am 
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As far as I know, the only treatment for aquamarine is heating. It is done to change a greenish aquamarine into a more truly blue one. There is a radiation treatment that can produce a bright blue beryl, but I don't think it looks much like aquamarine. Untreated stones are left exactly as they came out of the ground, except for the faceting.

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:45 am 
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gemsevermore wrote:
As far as I know, the only treatment for aquamarine is heating. It is done to change a greenish aquamarine into a more truly blue one. There is a radiation treatment that can produce a bright blue beryl, but I don't think it looks much like aquamarine. Untreated stones are left exactly as they came out of the ground, except for the faceting.


is it better to purchase heat treated aquamarine or a stone that hasn't been treated? because theres this one online site and the stone hasn't been treated and looks bright blue


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 12:56 pm 
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A word of caution about "untreated" aquamarine... especially if it's bright blue. It may be worth your while to ask if the stone has been irradiated, coated, or subject to any other processes ... some sellers out there only consider "heating" to be a treatment and will conveniently neglect to mention the other ones. It's a bit shady.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 1:19 pm 
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Buy a stone from a trusted source, who will explain what you are buying.

re: heat treated or natural aqua
Its a matter of color preference...natural aqua may have a slight greenish tinge. I prefer that pale greenish blue color but the majority of the buying public does not.
It is my understanding that Nigerian aqua occurs naturally without that green component so heat treatment would be futile on Nigerian material.
Suggestion:
This is an important purchase for you. Don't look for the cheapest stone. Seek out a dealer who is trustworthy and will explain how he/she arrives at the value for their gems and can explain to you honestly and definitively whether the stones have been treated.
Choose the most beautiful gem. You will never be disappointed.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 3:57 pm 
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Barbra, et al,

Some Brazilian aquamarine exhibits a pure blue without heat treatment. in my book there is a photo of my wife Rebekah sorting a a pure blue rough parcel of aqua from Nova Era.

Never heard of the Nigerian material before, thats a new one on me. Anymore information?

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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 4:21 pm 
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I came across Nigerian aqua crystals when I was a student in Germany. I met several Nigerian dealers at the time. The crystals they had were dead blue. That was a long time ago.
I see Nigerian material available now online that indeed appears to have a green component.
I presume new sources have been discovered.

But, as you indicated, it is entirely posible to have an an untreated aqua which has no greenish component.


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PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2007 9:25 pm 
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http://www.ajsgems.com/catalog/aquamarine.aspx?pid=0
suggested by someone. it says its untreated and its pretty bright blue....

most of the webs offer stones that are like 5carats+
i'm looking for something between 1-2carats. how much should i be considering? (i want a high quality stone that won't go down in value)

any reputable sellers? especially in canada?


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PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:07 am 
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I have some untreated aquas that are about that color. Nothing near that clarity or size, though. From what I hear, AJ's is a very reputable dealer with many fine stones. I would expect that what you see is pretty well what you will get. And his prices are very fair for his quality, to my mind.

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PostPosted: Mon Dec 17, 2007 12:22 am 
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if it is heat treated, does the colour change over time??

what is the best aquamarine stone i can put on a ring?
like the type, the clarity, the colour, the cut, etc.
i'm starting a family heirloom. or at least i hope it becomes one. i am going to take my time finding the perfect stone, and finding my diamonds and finding that perfect jeweller that will make my dream ring come true.

i really do apologize if i am being annoying. i have been taught my whole life that aquamarine is the cheapest stone and i was quite disappointed because my friend who has this georgeous emerald ring who claims her stone's really expensive and is one of the most expensive stones. but the more i learn about aquamarine, the more i want to buy the best of the best i can get my hands on and make it into a ring and a jewellery set even if it takes me ages to gather all my pieces :)


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