Aquamarine is best known as a highly transparent blue stone. Unlike emerald, the deep green variety of beryl, high-clarity, fracture-free aquamarine is abundant and more affordable. High-clarity, fracture-free stones are also more attractive and less likely to be damaged during wear.

Did you know that nice pieces of translucent aquamarine are also used in jewelry? Translucent aquamarine is often cut into beads and sometimes cut as cabochons. Necklaces strung with beads of pastel blue aquamarine and pastel pink morganite (both color-varieties of the mineral beryl) make a beautiful combination.

We wondered what the gem identification experts at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) would think of a humble tumbled stone made from translucent blue beryl. So, we packed one up and submitted it to their lab for identification.

We were delighted to see that despite its distinctly translucent clarity and modest cutting style, the GIA lab identified it as follows… Species: natural beryl, Variety: aquamarine. [2] The identity of the stone was based upon mineral species and color. Clarity and shape did not influence its identity.