Gems : Aquamarine

Aquamarine is the sky or sea blue variety of beryl. It is sometimes also sea green, but this is less desirable. ‘Aquamarine’ literally means seawater, and is frequently shortened to aqua.
As with many gemstones, aquamarine’s colour has almost always been improved by some kind of treatment. Heat is used to turn aquamarines from greenish, yellow or brown stones into a beautiful blue. In this treatment, the stones are heated to about 400 to 450 degrees Celsius, creating a permanent change in colour.
Large aquamarines are relatively easy to find, and the price doesn’t rise as steeply with size as it does with many other stones. Small stones are often a little pale, and therefore not as attractive, so small aquamarines, which are harder to obtain, are relatively expensive.