Aquamarine buyer’s guide

Color before carat

A pale stone can be large and still look washed out. A smaller stone with a stronger, purer blue often wears better. Look at it in daylight and indoors. Greenish stones are sometimes heated to shift them toward blue. Heat of that kind is common and should be named if we know it.

Do not compare an aquamarine carat with a sapphire carat. Aquamarine is lighter, so the same weight shows a larger face.

What to read on the listing

Species, millimetres, carat, and any treatment line. Inclusions are fewer than in emerald, so a large eye-visible fracture is a reason to pause. The cut should not leave a broad window that drains the color.

This page does not grade any stone in the catalog. The product page does.

Questions

Is aquamarine the same as blue topaz?

No. Aquamarine is beryl. Blue topaz is a different mineral, usually treated to reach a strong blue. The hardness, density, and price logic are not the same.

Can it be worn every day?

Hardness 7.5–8 is suitable for a ring if the setting protects the girdle. It is still not as hard as sapphire. Take it off for hard knocks and harsh cleaners.