How to Buy the Perfect Aquamarine
These days colored gems are becoming increasingly popular, partly because they are relatively inexpensive, but mainly because they are beautiful and diverse. When trying to figure out whether or not you are getting a good deal when buying a colored gem, the first thing to remember is that the prices of colored gems are not regulated. The one exception to this is tanzanite, but that is another story.
Yes, DeBeers has been controlling the diamond market for a long time, but their primary influence is limited to that one stone. There are hundreds if not thousands of other gems out there that are not regulated, and aquamarine is one of them. All this means is that you need to be careful when shopping for aquamarine, but at the same time, you can possibly get a lot of bling for your buck.
Jewelers have used the 4Cs so often that these criteria for judging a stone have become a cliché. And don’t forget that these originally applied to diamonds. Still, when buying your aquamarine, these same ole 4 Cs still apply: Color, Clarity, Cut, Carat weight.
Color. It is pretty easy to find aquamarines that are almost colorless. These command a relatively low cost per carat, maybe as little as a few dollar. If you are looking for a quality stone, you want that deep blue that is characteristic of the Santa Maria aquamarines from Brazil, or the Santa Maria Africana stones.
Clarity. This is usually not an issue with aquamarine because the stone is generally transparent and largely free from visible inclusions, but watch out for less than reputable dealers who will try to swindle you with cloudy stones.
Cut. Compared to color and clarity, cut becomes a bit more tricky. If you take a really close look at the stone you are hoping to buy, you can readily tell if it is well cut or not by paying attention to its proportions. For example, you do not want a stone that is too deeply cut, nor one that is too shallow. Either can affect the stone’s color and cause problems when setting it.
Carat Weight. Bigger stones command bigger price tags. Logical, right? Well, in the gemstone market place, it is not uncommon for the value of a larger stone to be exponentially more than a smaller one. This means, for example, that a 10 carat stone could cost much more than ten times a one carat stone of similar color, clarity and cut.
These 4C basics have been around a long time, but remember they can apply to much more than diamonds.
