Aquamarine

Aquamarine (Lat. aqua marinā, "water of the sea") is a gemstone-quality transparent variety of beryl, having a delicate blue or turquoise color, suggestive of the tint of seawater. It's closely related to the gem emerald. Colors vary and yellow beryl, called heliodor; rose pink beryl, morganite; and white beryl, goshenite are known.

Hardness: -9.0

Occurrence:
Aquamarine is pale greenish blue or bluish green variety of beryl. Beryl is a mineral composed of beryllium aluminum silicate, a commercial source of beryllium. It has long been of interest because several varieties are valued as gemstones. These are aquamarine, emerald and heliodor. Aquamarine is the most common variety of gem beryl, it occurs in pegmatite, in which it forms much larger and clearer crystals than emerald.

Value:
Aquamarine is found in Brazil, India, Russia (Ural mountains) and USA (Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, North Carolina, Colorado and Vermont). Aquamarines are mined in a number of exotic places including Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Pakistan and Mozambique. Brazil is the source of the finest aquamarines.