Cochise College Student Papers in Geology

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Roger Weller, geology instructor

Aquamarine
Maggie Monahan
Physical Geology
Spring 2006

AQUAMARINE /BIRTHSTONE

Aquamarine-History

Aquamarine is the birthstone for the whole month of March. That is why I chose to do my topic for my report. The color and the look of the material caught my interest. And I wanted to learn more about my birthstone (color, clarity, cut, carat weight, source, and use). Aquamarine is a gemstone. The gemstone also has a meaning, which means “sea (water) sparkles like the sea and its color is light to medium blue, sometimes with a slight greenish splash.” And also “according to some legends, it is the treasure of mermaids, with the power to keep sailors safe at sea.

aquamarines

Color

The color is the color that is because of the seawater hence the name aquamarine. The color is light medium blue with a slight greenish color to its material. It is stated “the color shades varies from dark blue to sky blue with a trace of green in it.” The gem (aquamarine) has different colors when you look at it from different directions.

Clarity

The aquamarine is transparent. And also, the aquamarine is “stone free inclusions and flaws. Sawing is the process where the flaws are removed by the diamond saw blade.”

Cut

“Cutting this rough stone is quite easy.” The “cuts are seen like round, pear, oval, square, emerald, triangle and many more.” It is easy to form and shape the way that you want it. So it is not hard to cut the rough stone. It makes nice shapes that you can enjoy and wear.

The higher the carat weight the better it will look such as the color and the shape, and also the sparkle. It is stated that when “the co lour clarity increases when the size of Aquamarine

the stone is increased.” It can weigh more than 2 carats or less than 2 carats.

The aquamarine (gemstone) occurs to be found in certain countries. The countries the gemstone can be found are as follows; Brazil, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola, and along with Nigeria. The main source that the aquamarine (gemstone) is which I already mentioned is Madagascar. “Madagascar produce s the aquamarine,” mostly but can be produced in other countries too.

People like to buy jewelry so the gemstone is made then bought. It gets produced then made and then bought. It can be made into a lot of things. Some of the things that the material, can be made into; rings bracelets, necklaces, bangles, earrings, studs, and pendants. They aquamarine makes great presents to buy and receive for show. The gemstone is very beautiful, sparkles and dazzles eyes.

The aquamarine as described is a beautiful color. And has a great clarity that catches a person’s eye. The cut is very easy and not hard. It makes a nice wonderful and elegant cut with nice shapes that can be formed. It makes a nice smooth surface not rough surface. When you make this material it can weigh less than 2 carats or more than 2 carats. This gemstone can be found in beautiful and wonderful and varies countries, which can produce this material that we call aquamarine.

“Aquamarine needs to be cleaned often to keep its brilliant sparkle. A thorough, soft brush scrubbing with a commercial jewelry cleaner or liquid detergent and water is sufficient if done after every three or four wearings.”

Mineral Information on Beryl

Cochise College Student Papers in Geology

AQUAMARINE, the blue variety of beryl http://mineral.galleries.com/

AQUAMARINE, the blue variety of beryl
http://mineral.galleries.com/