![]() You don't want to spend thousands of dollars on an aquamarine white gold ring, only to find out you have been sold something that is much less valuable. Remember, lab created stones imitate the highest quality natural ones, at a fraction of the cost. Production costs are much lower, as well. Lab grown aquamarine is much less expensive than natural, at least in part because it is less rare. Be sure to ask questions, and understand what you are buying. By law, jewelers are supposed to inform consumers which one is being offered for sale, and whether or not there are any treatments. Price and the reputation of your local jeweler are also good ways to know if aquamarine jewelry is made with natural or lab-created aquamarine. After all, the “recipe” for lab-created aquamarine will favor bluer crystals. Chances are that if a stone has a greenish tinge, it's a natural one. In this case, the object is usually to transform a greenish stone into one with a pure blue color, which commands a higher price. Although aquamarine can be found from a very pale, pure blue down to a light aqua color, heat treatment can improve the color. However, there is another reason why synthetics are hard to spot: heat treatment of natural stones. For that reason, unless you have access to gemological tools you probably can't tell the difference just by looking. This means that there tend to be few inclusions in good quality natural aquamarine, anyway. However, this gemstone is known for having a high degree of clarity in comparison to many others. The Main Difference: Inclusions & Price Aquamarine InclusionsĪs we said above, the main difference within a lab created aquamarine crystal and a natural one often is the number and type of inclusions. Aquamarine is found in many of the same places as other types of beryl, including India, Pakistan, and the US. In addition, many deposits are high in the mountains. Other times, the rock must be split open to access the crystals. Often, the deposits are close to the surface and easy to access with just a shovel. These are remarkable, not only for their size but also their extremely high quality.īefore being set into aquamarine jewelry, however, natural aquamarine must be mined from the earth. She later went on to have a lovely aquamarine tiara made, and the entire set includes huge faceted stones. In honor of her coronation, the Brazilian government gave her a beautiful aquamarine necklace and earrings. This designer cut obelisk is on display at the Smithsonian, and it came from a part of a 100-pound rough aquamarine stone.Īnother example of Brazilian aquamarines is found in Queen Elizabeth II's jewelry collection. ![]() ![]() In fact, Brazil produced the world-famous Dom Pedro aquamarine (as pictured below). Famously, Brazil has a very large aquamarine deposit, and many of them are quite large. Unlike synthetic aquamarine, the natural variety must be mined. Gemologists can tell the difference between lab-created aquamarine and natural aquamarine stone, but the untrained eye cannot. Unlike the natural ones, however, there tend to be fewer flaws in the crystal. Over a relatively short period of time, this solution forms into crystals that look just like natural ones. Then, the solution is “cooked” with a consistent temperature and amounts of pressure.A solution is mixed that contains all the necessary chemicals, something like a recipe.On the other hand, in a lab, the crystals are formed in constant conditions. During their formation, there were all kinds of other things around the growing crystals, such as other minerals and changes in temperature. Mined aquamarines are formed deep in the earth, and are many thousands of years old. Perhaps the biggest difference between natural and lab-created aquamarine is their origin. Synthetic vs Natural Aquamarine Making Aquamarine in a Lab Stunning mined-aquamarine crystals can be found in many parts of the world, including Russia, Brazil, Pakistan, India, and parts of Africa. Regardless of the type of aquamarine (lab or natural), the blue color is derived from iron that replaces some of the aluminum in a growing crystal. Perhaps that's one reason why more couples are choosing an aquamarine engagement ring. This places it between quartz and corundum ( sapphires and rubies) and means it's suitable for jewelry that will be worn every day. That's because beryl has a Mohs hardness of 7.5-8. Whether natural or lab created, aquamarine is a very durable gemstone.
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