Fashion Fierce Aquamarines
Aquamarines are gorgeous stone and they almost never go out of style. They are hot for fall as the colors of aqua and red are hot this fall as well. They also look great as square cut cocktail rings. Giant gemstones on your ring finger have been a mainstay in fashion lately.
If you have been following fashion trends lately then you know that large chunky rings featuring aquamarine gemstones are all the rage. Jewels such as the 4 carat aquamarine solitaire, reminiscent of the gigantic stones that use to identify cocktail rings in the 1950s are being flashed on celebrity fingers. The larger and flashier the aquamarine is, the better it is a bling!
There are precious few other gemstones that can be cut as large an aquamarine. This is because aquamarine gemstones can be mined in relatively large sheets or blocks that don’t contain any flaws, inclusions or bubbles in the crystal. This is especially true of aquamarine gemstones that are mined in Brazil. In fact if you do see a ring that features something like a huge 4 carat aquamarine solitaire it has to be Brazilian as large pieces of this precious member of the beryl family are a rarity elsewhere.
There are many jewelry manufacturers specializing in reproducing aquamarine jewelry after the fashion of large cocktail rings from the 1940s or 50s. Usually these rings consist of one huge aquamarine gemstone that is sometimes flanked by two other smaller stones. Usually these two other stones are diamonds or sapphires. You might also have some luck finding a genuine aquamarine cocktail ring from those decades by shopping in vintage jewelry outlets online or keeping your eye on vintage jewelry auction sites. Pink gold and aquamarine rings are very valuable collector’s items.
There are some types of this beautifully faceted beryl that are considered to be “a cut above” all the rest. (no pun intended.) One of these is the Santa Maria Aquamarine.
The Santa Maria Aquamarine is known for its deeper bright blue color that can be described as the kind of blue that happens on a sunny day when the ocean’s horizon meets the sky. This brilliant blue gem stone is treasure by both collectors and new comers to the world of aquamarine jewelry alike.
Santa Maria aquamarine jewelry is found in the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Brazil. These gem stones are supposed to be the brightest and bluest in the world although similar stones have been mined in Mozambique. To differentiate them from the Brazilian ones these brilliant blue stones from Mozambique are called “Santo Maria Africa.”
Keep in mind when shopping for aquamarine jewelry that the highest quality stones tend to come from Brazil. The gem stones from this country tend to be large, more transparent, have magnificent color and contain the least flaws. Aquamarines that are of a lower quality, but more affordable could come from Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Zambia.