We leverage our relationships with local artisanal miners to find fine rough we can cut in our cutting workshop and add to our collection here. The name aquamarine comes from the Latin words aqua. These days, small amounts of beryl are a by-product of gemstone mining. However, the extraction of beryllium is very expensive. A feature of some aquamarine stones are its inclusions, made up of long, hollow tubes that can be transparent. Beryl was once one of the world’s only important ores of beryllium metal. With a Mohs Hardness rating of 7.5 to 8, aquamarine gems are suitable for everyday wear, require no special care, and are some of the easiest gems to polish. Named after the color of sea water, aquamarine is the blue to blue-green member of the beryl family. It is actually part of the Beryl family with its closest cousin being the Emerald. These beautiful stones are a variety of mineral beryl and are known for their striking blue-green colour. Aquamarine is the name used for the mineral beryl within the colour range of greenish blue to blue.

It can range from a glittering greenish blue through to a deep sky blue and as light passes through it, an image of sun reflecting off seawater comes to mind. This beautiful gem is named from the Latin words “Aqua” and “Mare” which mean “Water” and Sea” and it is easy to see why. Additionally, aquamarine gemstones are used to help soothe sore throats, swollen glands and thyroid problems. Recently, a deposit of very fine Aquamarine was discovered in Mozambique with a gorgeous deep hue which has been nicknamed “Santa Maria Afrique” in the trade as they closely resemble their Brazilian cousins from the Santa Maria district. Aquamarine contains no or few noticeable inclusions but it can have inclusions like mica, hematite, or salt-water. Aquamarine has a chemical composition of Be 3 Al 2 Si 6 O 18, also containing Fe 2+. The color of aquamarine can be changed by heat. During the 1980’s we operated one of the world’s top Aquamarine minesĪt the foot of the Nyambeni Hills in Kenya, so Aquamarine is a gemstoneĪfrica produces some wonderful Aquamarines with Kenya and Tanzania both producing gorgeous sky blue stones. The aquamarine gem can help in improving your intellectual prowess so that you can innovate and come up with solutions effectively and quickly. Aquamarine is a pale-blue to light-green variety of beryl.

Aquamarine gem