Education
Diamond Education
- Diamond 4 C's
- Diamond Buying Guide
- Answers to 1 Carat Diamond Questions
- Your Guide to Buying a Diamond Online
- How to Pick the Right Diamond
- Diamond Buying Mistakes
- Real vs. Fake Diamonds
- Lab Diamond Buying Guide
- 10 Most FAQ - Diamonds
- Off Size Diamonds Guide
- Popular Diamond Cuts
- Price of a 2 Carat Diamond
- Top FAQ - Lab Diamonds
- What Is the Average Diamond Size in Engagement Rings?
- Diamond Carat
- Diamond Clarity
- IF Diamonds
- FL Diamonds
- Diamond Inclusions Guide
- Flawless vs Internally Flawless
- Which Diamond Clarity Is Best?
- VS2 vs VS1: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- VVS2 vs VVS1: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- SI2 vs SI1: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- SI1 vs VS2: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- VS1 vs VVS2: Diamond Clarity Comparison
- Accent Diamond Clarity
- Lab Diamond Clarity
- SI Diamonds
- VS Diamonds
- VVS Diamonds
- Diamond Color
- Diamond Cut
- Diamond Cut Types
- Ideal Cut Diamonds
- Hearts and Arrows Diamonds
- What is Diamond Depth
- Diamond Table
- Lab Diamond Cut
- Antique Cut Diamonds
- Brilliant Cut Diamonds
- Rose Cut Diamonds
- What Is The Most Expensive Diamond Cut?
- What Are Step Cut Diamonds?
- Diamond Bow Ties
- How Are Diamonds Cut
- Diamond Brilliance
- Spread Diamonds
- Diamond Fire
- Crushed Ice Diamonds
- Diamond Shape
- Lab Diamond Shape
- Asscher
- Cushion
- Emerald
- Marquise
- Oval
- Pear
- Princess
- Radiant
- Round
- Which Diamond Cut Is Best?
- Round vs Princess Diamond Cut
- Round vs Cushion Diamond Cut
- Cushion vs Princess Diamonds
- Cushion vs Oval Cut Diamonds
- Emerald vs Asscher Cut Diamond
- Princess vs Marquis Diamonds
- Princess vs Radiant Cut Diamonds
- Cushion vs Asscher Cut Diamonds
- Emerald vs Radiant Cut Diamonds
- Oval vs Marquise Cut Diamonds
- Oval vs Pear Cut Diamonds
- Pear vs Marquise Cut Diamonds
- Emerald vs Cushion Cut Diamonds
- Elongated Cushion Cut Diamonds
- Diamond Certification
- Diamond Fluorescence
- How Diamonds Are Formed
- Diamond Pricing
- Diamond Size Chart Carat & MM
- Diamond Symmetry
- Diamond Polish
- Diamond Girdle
- Diamond Culet
- Engraved Rings
- Fancy Colored Diamonds
- Loose Diamonds
- History Of Lab Grown Diamonds
- Natural vs Synthetic Diamonds
- Diamond Sourcing
- NY Diamond District
Engagement Ring Education
- How To Buy Engagement Rings
- Affordable Engagement Rings
- Cost of a One Carat Diamond
- How To Buy A Lab Diamond Ring
- How to Buy An Engagement Ring In a Time Crunch
- How to Choose An Engagement Ring
- How to Pick Your Engagement Ring Budget
- Engagement Rings For Second Marriage
- Best Time to Buy An Engagement Ring
- How to Buy An Engagement Ring As a Couple
- Everything You Need to Know About Dainty Engagement Rings
- Future Mother In Law's Guide to Engagement Ring Shopping
- Engagement Ring Financing
- Why You Need an Engagement Ring Appraisal
- Best Round Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Square Cut Engagement Ring
- Top Teardrop Engagement Rings
- Best Asscher Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Oval Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Radiant Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Marquise Cut Engagement Rings
- Twisting Rings
- Best Emerald Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Cushion Cut Engagement Rings
- Best Dainty Engagement Rings
- Best Unique Engagement Rings
- Best Traditional Diamond Engagement Rings
- Best Split Shank Diamond Engagement Rings
- Top 10 Square Halo Engagement Rings
- Top 10 Unusual Engagement Rings
- Black Diamond Engagement Rings
- Edwardian Engagement Rings
- Antique Style Engagement Rings
- Nature Inspired Engagement Ring
- Filigree Rings
- Art Deco Rings
- Wide Band Engagement Rings
- Infinity Engagement Rings
- Best Two Tone Diamond Engagement Rings
- Victorian Style Engagement Rings
- Minimalistic Engagement Rings
- Big Style Engagement Rings
- Cute Style Engagement Rings
- Modern Style Engagement Rings
- Past Present and Future Rings
- Thin Engagement Rings
- Pretty Style Engagement Rings
- Double Band Engagement Rings
- 1 Carat Diamond Ring
- Top Princess Cut Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Cushion Cut Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Women's Rose Gold Engagement Rings
- Top Round Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Sapphire and Diamond Engagement Rings
- Top East West Engagement Rings
- Top Pave Engagement Rings
- Top Split Shank Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Unique Halo Engagement Rings
- Rose Gold Pear Shaped Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Pear Shaped Engagement Rings
- Top Oval Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Cushion Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Engagement Rings
- Top Marquise Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Cushion Cut Engagement Rings
- Top Emerald Cut Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Bypass Engagement Rings
- Top Rose Gold Cushion Cut Engagement Rings
- Top Rose Gold Oval Engagement Rings
- Top Emerald Cut Halo Engagement Rings
- Top Yellow Gold Oval Engagement Rings
- Top Rose Gold Emerald Cut Engagement Rings
- Top Oval Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Floating Diamond Engagement Rings
- Top Cushion Cut Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Princess Cut Three Stone Engagement Rings
- Top Simple Engagement Rings
- Vintage Style Engagement Rings
- Types of Accent Diamonds
- Everything You Need to Know Before Setting Diamonds
- Engagement Ring Prong Guide
- All About Ring Resizing
- Identifying Your Ring After A Repair
- Everything You Need to Know About Milgrain
- Everything You Need to Know About Wide Band Engagement Rings
- Eternity Rings vs Infinity Rings
- When To Propose
- What Are Baguette Diamond Engagement Rings
- What to Say When You Propose
- What Are the Groom's Parents Responsible For?
Gemstone Education
Jewelry Education
- Jewelry Buying Guide
- How To Buy Jewelry Online
- Diamond: 10th Anniversary Gifts
- Ruby: 40th Anniversary Gemstone & Jewelry
- Sapphire: 5th Anniversary Gemstone & Jewelry
- Top 10 Sapphire Earrings
- Emerald: 20th Anniversary Gemstone & Jewelry
- Top 10 Push Presents
- How To Shop For Christmas Jewelry Gifts
- How To Buy An Anniversary Band
Metal Education
Aquamarine Origin & Properties
For those who love blue gems, Aquamarine is a perennial favorite. After all, its color reminds you of the sea or the sky above us on a cloudless day. But, what’s so special about Aquamarine besides its color? What have gemologists (and jewelers) learned about this fabulous gem?
Chemical Make-up
Aquamarine is a lovely blue gemstone and a member of the beryl family. This family includes emerald, as well as a few lesser-known varieties. Chemically, it is a beryllium aluminum silicate mineral, with a Mohs hardness of between 7.5 and 8.
Crystals tend to be hexagonal, with either a flat top or pointed like a prism. Raw Aquamarine crystals can be very large. Due to its crystal structure, Aquamarine stone tends to be brittle. Those born in March have an Aquamarine birthstone. Because Aquamarine is a hard mineral, jewelry of this specific gem is known to be durable, and can withstand regular wear.
Formation
Like most minerals, Aquamarine forms deep inside the earth. Unlike some minerals, this precious gem forms in a variety of rock, including both igneous and metamorphic rock. As a source of beryllium, the mineral beryl is fairly rare. That’s because beryllium, is a rare element in and of itself, and therefore beryl can only form where there are large amounts of it.

Why is Aquamarine, Blue?
Aquamarine is blue by definition, with the color ranging from the lightest pastel blue to the signature “Aquamarine” color that has the tiniest bit of green in it, to something a bit darker. Since blue color is a defining property of Aquamarine, it doesn’t come in any other color. Gemologists have determined that the blue color is a result of iron in the crystal, with the shade of blue being determined by the way in which the iron was incorporated.
Aquamarine Origin
Although it’s named for the color of the sea (Aquamarine means water blue), Aquamarine was first discovered in modernity far from the sea in Siberia. The year was 1723, and by the end of the 18th century, large deposits were being mined and sent to Western Europe.
Natural Aquamarine Deposits
Today, the main deposits are in Pakistan (high in the mountains) and Brazil. Other locations include the Ural mountains in Russia, as well as China, California, and Colorado in the US, Myanmar, Ukraine, and Africa. Most of the mining is either done by picking through surface deposits, or by strip mining.
Aquamarine isn’t found in deep enough deposits to warrant shaft mining. Early on, most of these light blue gems were found on the ground or in rivers, and this was especially true in Russia. Pakistani miners scale cliffs in the mountains and Brazilians sometimes use strip mining.
Aquamarine Valuation
Unlike emeralds, Aquamarine is a fairly affordable gem. Largely, this is due to the fact that it is much more abundant, and large crystals are common. According to the GIA, Aquamarine is a gemstone that doesn’t have as many inclusions as emerald, so a large eye-clean Aquamarine gem is easy to obtain.
For this reason, there isn’t a large premium on large carat-weight Aquamarine. Prices go up linearly by the size of the gem, assuming other quality factors are the same. As a result, this is a relatively affordable gem for gorgeous Aquamarine jewelry.
Clarity
One of the great things about cutting this light blue gem rough is that it tends to have a high clarity rating, to begin with. The GIA calls this a “type I” gemstone, meaning that many specimens are very clean when mined. However, there are plenty of rough Aquamarine pieces with inclusions. These are very inexpensive and used in creative carvings or jewelry.
Cut
When rough Aquamarine is cut, it’s an opportunity to create something really beautiful. Options include faceted gems, which are the most familiar option for most aquamarine jewelry consumers. This option is usually selected for raw Aquamarine that’s already close to transparent.
However, lower quality material is also made into cabochons (domed polished pieces) or carved. Some cuts are more expensive than others due to the technical difficulty of producing them. They might also cost more because they waste more of the original Aquamarine.

Cabochon shape Aquamarine
Color
By far, color is the most important factor in Aquamarine value. When mined, most Aquamarine has a slightly green cast. However, more valuable material is pure blue. Because Aquamarine is a light-colored gem, the most desirable pieces are larger than two carats. This allows the pure blue to come through in the stone.
In order to bring you the perfect Aquamarine white gold ring, we source heat treated gemstones (except white diamonds). Most of these light blue gems contain slight green cast when mined, so heat treating is a totally natural and permanent way to improve the color and clarity of the rough. Whether you’re looking for an Aquamarine wedding ring or something that’s a bit more informal, we’ll be happy to help you pick the right one.
Contact us by phone at 1(844)-234-6463 or email at [email protected]. Our Live Chat is available during business hours Monday - Friday 10AM - 6PM ET.