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Jamming Gems Aquamarine Info
Aquamarine
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General Information:
Aquamarine is the birthstone for the month of March. The name aquamarine comes
from the Latin word
meaning sea water, in reference to its color. Aquamarine is from the
beryl family (Be3Al2(Si6O18) and is the pale green to blue type of the mineral.
Aquamarine gets its color from trace amounts of iron impurities in the beryl
structure. To eliminate the yellow-green color sometimes seen in this gem, it
is heated to become pure blue. Aquamarine that has a pure blue color is very
desired, and can get fairly pricey. Almost all aquamarine has a light color
tone, making the darker of these the most sought after.
Beryl (Be3Al2Si6O18) is found most often in silica rich granites and granite
pegmatites in association with quartz, feldspars and muscovite. In these
pegmatites beryl can be the varieties of aquamarine, heliodor and morganite.
Beryl can also be found in mica schists of metamorphic-hydrothermal deposits,
where the schists form by chemical interaction between the pegmatites and
surrounding basic rocks.
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Origin:
Most aquamarine is found in Brazil, other deposits found in; Australia, Myanmar
(Burma), China, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria,
Pakistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the United States. |
Common Treatments and Lab Created
Forms:
Heat treatment is used to make the gem pure blue and get rid of the
yellow-green hue that many aquamarines have naturally.
There is a lab created aquamarine, but it is fairly expensive compared to many
lab versions of natural gems. Another popular option available, is lab created
spinel in a pale blue that resembles aquamarine. Other simulants are available
such as blue cubic zirconia, and glass materials. |
Physical Properties:
Moh's Scale Hardness: 7.5-8
Specific Gravity: 2.68 - 2.80
Refractive Index: 1.563 - 1.583
Fracture: conchoidal to uneven, brittle
Crystal Habit: prismatic crystals, elongate or flattened, are often vertically
striated and grooved.
Colors: Light blue to dark blue, blue green |
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