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Aquamarine

Aquamarine is the blue to greenish blue variety of beryl, coloured by iron, mined chiefly in Brazil and across Africa. Most aquamarine is light, so saturation decides value more than anything else, and the deep blue the trade calls Santa Maria is scarce even though the species itself is plentiful in large, clean crystals. Byrex Gems offers aquamarine to the jewellery trade from Toronto, filmed unedited, with prices for approved buyers and viewings by appointment.

Where to buy aquamarine in Toronto

Byrex Gems lists 9 aquamarine online today. Viewings are at our Toronto office, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, steps from Queen subway station, by appointment. We have supplied coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds to jewellers and designers since 1988, and welcome private clients by appointment. Prices are shown to approved trade accounts; private clients can ask us on WhatsApp, where we reply within 12 hours, or by email within 24 hours. Every stone ships insured, worldwide.

Among the aquamarine listed today: 115.60 ct Cushion Aquamarine, 54.05 ct Square Aquamarine, 32.73 ct Oval Aquamarine, 11.83 ct Oval Aquamarine, 11.82 ct Oval Aquamarine, 11.48 ct Radiant Emerald Cut Aquamarine, 5.20 ct Cushion Aquamarine, 3.21 ct Square Step Cut Aquamarine, 3.16 ct Oval Aquamarine.

What is aquamarine and where is it mined?

Aquamarine is beryl, the same mineral as emerald, coloured by iron rather than chromium. Iron in one oxidation state gives blue; iron in another gives yellow, and the two together produce the greenish blue of much untreated rough. Heating converts the yellow-producing iron and leaves a purer blue, which is why most aquamarine on the market is a clean sky blue rather than sea green.

Brazil is the historic and still the most important source. Minas Gerais has produced the great crystals and the finest colour, and the Santa Maria de Itabira mine gave its name to the deepest blue. Africa has grown into the second pillar: Nigeria produces saturated blue stones, Mozambique yields material of Santa Maria character that the trade calls Santa Maria Africana, Madagascar and Zambia produce clean stones in quantity, and Pakistan's Shigar valley is known for well-formed crystals.

Aquamarine crystals can be very large and remarkably clean. Flawless stones of tens of carats are not unusual, and museum pieces weigh in the kilograms. That abundance in size is why the species is judged so heavily on colour.

How laboratories describe aquamarine

A report identifies the stone as natural beryl with the variety aquamarine and describes the colour in words. Origin opinions are seldom requested for aquamarine, since the price difference between sources is small; where stated, origin is an opinion based on inclusions and chemistry and may be recorded as inconclusive.

Heating is the treatment to understand. Gentle heating removes the yellow and green and leaves blue; it leaves no detectable trace, and it is so routine that laboratories state, in their own wording, that heating is common for aquamarine and cannot be determined, rather than attempting to call a stone heated or unheated. Heating must be disclosed as a practice of the trade even where it cannot be proven in a given stone.

The terms buyers hear describe colour. "Santa Maria" is the trade name for a deep, saturated pure blue originally associated with the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Minas Gerais; it is applied to stones of that colour from any source and has no laboratory standing. "Santa Maria Africana" refers to Mozambican stones of similar colour. None of these appears on a report as a grade.

What to check before buying an aquamarine

Judge saturation first, viewed from the top under daylight-equivalent light. Most aquamarine is pale, and the step from pale to medium to deep blue is where the value lies. Look for a pure blue without green, unless a greenish blue is wanted, and without the greyish cast that dulls some African stones.

Aquamarine is expected to be eye-clean and usually loupe-clean. Because the material is clean and large, cut quality is the main variable in appearance. Emerald cuts, cushions and ovals are standard, and a deep pavilion is often used to intensify colour in lighter rough; make sure it does not produce a dark centre or an unwearable depth.

Sizes are generous, so matched pairs, calibrated sizes and layouts are straightforward in light to medium colour and achievable in deep colour with patience. Byrex describes two stones as a pair only when the parcel paper or report says so, otherwise as a close match. One caution: maxixe beryl, a deep blue beryl whose colour comes from an unstable colour centre, fades in light and heat. Laboratories separate it by its spectrum and by its reversed pleochroism, and any very deep blue beryl at a surprising price should be checked before it is bought.

What drives the value of an aquamarine

Saturation drives value almost alone. The deep, pure blue of Santa Maria colour sits at the top, followed by medium blues, with the pale stones that make up most of the supply at the base. A slight greenish tint lowers the price unless the buyer wants it; a greyish tone lowers it more.

Size matters less than in most gems because clean large crystals exist, but deep colour in large sizes is still uncommon and large Santa Maria stones command a clear premium. Clarity is expected, so an eye-visible inclusion is a defect rather than a tolerated feature. Cut quality and proportions affect the colour the stone shows and are rewarded.

Origin adds little; Brazilian and African stones of the same colour are priced close together, with some preference for Brazilian Santa Maria material on reputation. Treatment is assumed, so heating neither adds nor removes value, and an unheated claim is a dealer's statement rather than a laboratory finding. Synthetic aquamarine is rare in the market, but blue topaz, blue glass and synthetic spinel are sold as aquamarine at the low end, and maxixe beryl is the trap at the high end. A report settles the identity and the maxixe question.

History, famous crystals and the maxixe caution

Aquamarine takes its name from the Latin for sea water and has been cut and worn since antiquity. Brazil became the dominant source in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the discovery of large clean crystals in Minas Gerais made aquamarine one of the few gems available as a flawless stone of many carats. The Santa Maria de Itabira mine, worked in the twentieth century, produced the saturated blue that still defines the top grade, and its name passed into the trade as a colour term.

Several crystals are famous for size. The Dom Pedro, cut as an obelisk by Bernd Munsteiner from a Brazilian crystal found in the 1980s, is displayed at the Smithsonian in Washington and is among the largest cut aquamarines in existence.

Maxixe beryl, named after the Maxixe mine in Minas Gerais where it was found in 1917, is the caution in this category. Its deep blue comes from a colour centre created by natural irradiation, and the same colour can be produced artificially in pale beryl; in both cases it fades on exposure to light or heat. Laboratories identify it by spectroscopy and by its pleochroism, which is strongest in the direction where ordinary aquamarine is weakest. A deep blue beryl without a report should be assumed to need one.

Buying aquamarine from Byrex Gems

A Toronto house for the jewellery trade since 1988, Byrex Gems counts more than seven thousand jewellers, designers and dealers among its customers. Many of our aquamarines are accompanied by reports from GRS, SSEF, Gübelin, GIA and other leading laboratories, and each is filmed in our office so that you can judge it before it travels.

Prices are shown to approved trade buyers. For anything else, WhatsApp +1 (437) 450-3786 reaches us within hours, and info@byrex.com is answered the same day, seven days a week. What is listed is a part of what we hold: more aquamarines are kept in the vault, and what we do not hold ourselves we can source through our offices worldwide. Viewings are by appointment in Toronto, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Dubai.

Aquamarine: questions buyers ask

Where can I buy aquamarine in Toronto?

Is aquamarine heated, and can a laboratory tell?

Usually, and it cannot be determined in a given stone. Gentle heating removes the yellow and green from iron and leaves a purer blue without a detectable trace, so laboratories state in their own words that heating is common for aquamarine. The practice must be disclosed.

What is Santa Maria aquamarine?

A trade name for a deep, saturated pure blue aquamarine, originally from the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and now applied to stones of that colour from any source. Mozambican stones of similar colour are called Santa Maria Africana. It is not a laboratory grade.

What is maxixe beryl and why does it matter?

Maxixe is a deep blue beryl whose colour comes from an unstable colour centre and fades in light or heat; the same colour can be induced artificially. Laboratories identify it by spectroscopy and its reversed pleochroism. Any unusually deep blue beryl should be checked before purchase.

Which reports does Byrex supply with aquamarine?

GIA, Gübelin, SSEF, GRS, Lotus or AGL depending on the stone, identifying natural beryl, variety aquamarine, and carrying the laboratory's standard comment on heating. Smaller calibrated stones are often sold without individual reports.

How large can a clean aquamarine be?

Very large. Flawless stones of tens of carats are not unusual, and crystals weighing kilograms have been cut into museum pieces such as the Dom Pedro at the Smithsonian. Size is therefore judged with colour; deep blue in large sizes is what carries the premium.

Is aquamarine suitable for an engagement ring?

Yes. Beryl is 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale and aquamarine is normally free of the fissures that weaken emerald, so it wears well in a ring. Ordinary bench work and ultrasonic cleaning are safe for clean stones; a deep blue colour is the rarer choice.

Does Byrex supply aquamarine for layouts and calibrated work?

Yes. Aquamarine's clean, large rough makes calibrated sizes, matched pairs and layouts straightforward in light to medium colour, and achievable in deep colour with time. Byrex supplies from stock and sources parcels through its offices and partners to a brief.

Can I view aquamarine in Toronto?

Yes, by appointment at 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Byrex shows each stone under daylight-equivalent and incandescent light so the saturation can be judged properly, with any laboratory report beside it.

Byrex Gems, 27 Queen Street East, Suite 407, Toronto. Coloured gemstones and natural fancy colour diamonds for the trade since 1988, and for private clients by appointment.

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