Get Rid of Synthetic Gemstones Once and For All
Often imitated, never duplicated. That is the best way to describe an aquamarine, although some people try to pass off other stones as this oceanic dazzler. Why? Who knows? The real thing is a pretty affordable stone, but there are a few similar stones that are a little cheaper, and thus, a dealer could make a few extra bucks passing them off as aquamarine.
How do you tell the real thing? Well, this can be a little tricky. Aquamarine and light blue topaz look a lot alike. Light blue topaz is the cheaper of the two stones. This may be the reason some people claim light blue topaz is the aquamarine gem. One thing to look for is a flaw in the gem. If you see a flaw in a stone that is supposed to be aquamarine, you likely have a phony. For the most part, aquamarine is a perfect gem, and almost never has a visible flaw. You should note an aquamarine will crack when banged against something hard enough, but doesn't come with natural flaws.
What about all those synthetic knock off stones that are in the cheap-end jewelry market? For diamonds there are cubic zirconias, and for emeralds there are beautiful man-made stones that look like prized gems that should be in a royal setting. But the idea of a man-made version of aquamarine hit a stone wall. That's because it costs more to create a synthetic version of aquamarine than it does to just mine the real thing, since there's so much of it out there. But, there is a synthetic stone that is similar. It's called ‘blue spinel’. While some dealers will tell you it's a synthetic aquamarine, it's not, as it does not have the correct stone properties. It's a knock off of a knock off.
