Aquamarine Beads Guide: Color, Clarity and the Beryl Family
Aquamarine is the blue to blue-green variety of beryl, colored by traces of iron, and at 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale it is one of the hardest stones you can buy as a bead. On a strand it runs from pale, watery blue and sea green to the deep, saturated blue sold as Santa Maria aquamarine, and from milky to nearly clear. It is the same mineral as emerald, morganite and heliodor, which differ only in the trace element that colors them. Here is how to judge color and clarity, what the trade names mean, and how to tell aquamarine from blue topaz, glass and dyed quartz.
Our aquamarine bead collection holds the blue material, and the beryl bead collection adds emerald, morganite and mixed beryl strands.
What Is Aquamarine?
Beryl is a beryllium aluminum silicate that grows as hexagonal crystals, mostly in granite pegmatites: coarse veins that form as a body of granite finishes cooling, where rare elements like beryllium gather in the last fluids. Pure beryl is colorless. In aquamarine, iron takes the place of some aluminum; one form of iron gives blue, another gives yellow, and together they make the blue-green typical of rough aquamarine. The name is Latin for seawater. Brazil, especially Minas Gerais, is the historic source, and Pakistan, Nigeria, Mozambique and Madagascar are other important sources today.
The Beryl Family at a Glance
| Variety | Color | Colored by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquamarine | Pale to deep blue, blue-green | Iron | The beryl most often cut into beads; March birthstone |
| Emerald | Light to deep green and bluish green | Chromium and vanadium | Heavily included in bead material; May birthstone |
| Morganite | Pink to peach | Manganese | Named for the banker J.P. Morgan |
| Heliodor (golden beryl) | Yellow to golden | Iron | From the Greek for "gift of the sun" |
| Goshenite | Colorless | No coloring element | Named for Goshen, Massachusetts, where it was first found |
| Red beryl | Raspberry red | Manganese | Very rare, mainly from Utah; not used for beads |
| Mixed beryl | Blue, pink, peach and near white | Several | Strands that combine aquamarine and morganite |
Aquamarine Color: Pale Blue to Santa Maria
Color is the first thing to judge. Most aquamarine is light blue, and the gem trade values a purer, more saturated blue over greenish or very pale stones. In beads you will see the whole range: pale sky blue, blue with a hint of green, sea-foam green and, in mixed strands, nearly colorless beads beside darker ones. A greener tone is a different look rather than a defect; it reads like sea glass and pairs well with green stones.
Santa Maria is a trade name for deep, saturated blue aquamarine. It comes from the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil, known for that intense color and now largely worked out. Today the term describes the color, not the mine, and deep blue material from Mozambique, Nigeria and Madagascar is sold under it, so read Santa Maria on any strand as a description of color rather than a statement of origin. Our Santa Maria aquamarine rounds and microfaceted Santa Maria rondelles run from icy blue to deeper ocean blue.
Milky or Clear: Clarity in Aquamarine Beads
Faceted gem aquamarine is usually clean to the eye, but beads are cut from the more included rough, which is what makes them affordable. Bead aquamarine runs from milky and nearly opaque, with a soft sea-glass look, to translucent and almost clear with small veils, fractures and dark specks. Clearer beads show more sparkle and a deeper color; milky beads look paler and softer. Faceted and microfaceted aquamarine brightens both kinds. Choose clear material for sparkle and milky material for a soft, beachy palette.
A matte finish turns aquamarine a frosted, chalky blue that hides inclusions entirely. Our matte multicolor aquamarine shows that look across the stone's blue to green range.
Emerald, Morganite and Mixed Beryl
Emerald is the green beryl, and bead emerald is cut from crystal too included for faceted gems: expect an uneven medium to deep green, visible inclusions and sometimes dark matrix. It is usually cut small, as in our microfaceted emerald rounds, and the full range is in our emerald beads. Morganite is the pink to peach beryl; see our morganite rounds. Mixed beryl strands put aquamarine and morganite together in pastel blue, pink and peach, as in our beryl rounds and ombre beryl rondelles. Because they are one mineral, they share a hardness and wear evenly on one strand.
How to Tell Aquamarine From Look-Alikes
Blue topaz is the most common substitute. Its color is very even and often more saturated than aquamarine. Topaz is also denser: a blue topaz bead weighs about a third more than an aquamarine bead of the same size. Turn a clear aquamarine bead and you may see 2 tones, blue and nearly colorless; blue topaz shows little change.
Blue glass has a perfectly uniform color, round gas bubbles or swirl lines, and often soft, rounded facet edges. It feels warmer in the hand than crystal and scratches far more easily.
Dyed quartz and quartzite are sold under names that suggest aqua. Look for color concentrated in cracks and around the drill holes, and a flat, slightly artificial blue.
Blue apatite is a different stone in a more vivid neon blue to teal. It is much softer, about 5 on the Mohs scale, and we sell it as apatite beads, never as aquamarine.
Beryl jade is a color name, not a mineral. Our Beryl Jade (dyed) strand is dyed jade in pastel beryl colors, labeled as such.
Aquamarine Hardness and Care
Aquamarine is 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, harder than quartz, so it resists scratches and suits bracelets worn every day. Hardness is not toughness, though: included beads can chip if knocked hard against stone or metal. Clean aquamarine in warm, soapy water, and skip ultrasonic cleaners for included or fractured strands. Emerald needs more care. Its many inclusions make it brittle, so clean emerald with a damp cloth only and keep it away from ultrasonic cleaners, steam and solvents. Store all beryl apart from softer beads such as opal, moonstone and pearl, which it can scratch; our guide to the Mohs hardness scale explains why.
Aquamarine Meaning and History
Aquamarine's name and its lore both come from the sea. Sailors in Roman and medieval times are said to have carried it as a charm for safe voyages, and in medieval Europe beryl was among the first materials ground into reading lenses, which is where the German word for eyeglasses, Brille, comes from. Aquamarine is the modern March birthstone, alongside the traditional bloodstone, in our March birthstone beads. In metaphysical belief, aquamarine is associated with courage, clear communication and the sea, and it is a symbol of safe travel over water.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is aquamarine a type of beryl?
Yes. Aquamarine is the blue to blue-green variety of beryl, the same mineral as emerald, morganite and heliodor.
What is Santa Maria aquamarine?
A trade name for deep, saturated blue aquamarine, first used for stones from the Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Brazil. Today it describes the color wherever the stone was mined.
Why are some aquamarine beads cloudy?
Bead aquamarine is cut from included rough. Fine fractures, veils and fibrous inclusions scatter light and make the stone milky; it is the same mineral as clear aquamarine.
How can you tell aquamarine from blue topaz?
Blue topaz is usually a more even, more saturated blue and feels heavier for its size. Aquamarine is lighter and can show a slightly different tone as you turn it.
What is the March birthstone?
Aquamarine is the modern March birthstone; bloodstone is the traditional one.
Shop Aquamarine Beads
Our aquamarine bead collection holds pale, multicolor and Santa Maria aquamarine in smooth, matte and microfaceted cuts. For the rest of the family, browse beryl beads and emerald beads, and for birthday designs see March birthstone beads. To read more, see The History and Origin of Birthstones.
These are traditional beliefs, not claims of physical effect. Crystals are not a substitute for medical care.
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