How to Tell if Aquamarine is Real or Fake?

How to Tell if Aquamarine is Real or Fake

The best way to tell if Aquamarine is real or fake is by its color. Aquamarine’s natural color is pale blue, similar to seawater. A slight yellow or green tint may also be present. There is excellent clarity and transparency in the real Aquamarine.

Aquamarine is a light blue stone with high transparency. This stone is composed of Morganite, Goshenite, and Emerald. Aquamarine can promote balance in your life.

You can get an authentic Aquamarine crystal to get the healing benefits. We will teach you how to tell if Aquamarine is real or fake. You can save your money and resources by avoiding scammers.

How Can I Differentiate a Real Gemstone from a Fake One?

When identifying real green aventurine, there are a few key things to look for. Real gemstones will have natural imperfections and irregularities, while fake ones are often too perfect.

You can also test the stone’s hardness and inspect its color to determine its authenticity.

How to Tell if Aquamarine Is Real or Fake?

Aquamarine crystals have a high hardness score and luster.

There are only a handful of crystals with high transparency.

You can check the Aquamarine transparency level to find more about the authenticity.

There are a few tests to find if the seller is giving synthetic Aquamarine crystal.

The presence of inclusions is one of the crucial parameters also.

You can learn about different types of Aquamarine inclusions to understand how to tell if Aquamarine is real or fake.

The surface of the Aquamarine is different from the glass.

The light color change reflected from the Aquamarine crystal surface indicates authentic crystals.

1. You Can Tell if Aquamarine Is Real or Fake by Checking Its Color and Quality

Aquamarine crystals have a faded blue color like seawater.

The name of the crystal also gives a hint about the crystal color.

You may not find the Aquamarine crystals in any other colors.

Some crystals can have a tint of yellow and green color.

Aquamarine is famous for its high transparency.

You should see the things on the opposite side of the crystal without any blur effects.

Iron is responsible for the Aquamarine color.

Iron can also change form in the crystals to give the yellow and green color. 

You can place an object on the other side of the Aquamarine crystal to check the transparency.

Most crystals will allow you to read the text on the other side of the crystal.

People sell blue glass in the place of Aquamarine crystals to scam people and make high profits.

You can differentiate the Aquamarine crystal from glass by checking the other identification parameters.

Dark blue Aquamarine crystals are the most expensive.

You cannot find them in the shops offering low price crystals.

Only the gemstone sellers can arrange a dark blue-colored Aquamarine crystal.

2. You Can Tell if Aquamarine Is Real or Fake by Trying to See Through the Crystal

Aquamarine shows pleochroic properties.

Aquamarine crystals show light blue color from most angles.

It can show different colors when you view it from different angles.

Aquamarine is different from glass due to this feature.

You will not see this feature in the glass.

Aquamarine is a perfect stone for jewelry due to its pleochroic properties.

Another reason people like to use Aquamarine in jewelry is its high transparency.

If you are willing to pay a high price, you can get Aquamarine with diamond-like quality. 

Miners can get Aquamarine in perfect form.

Some sellers sell it without any processing.

Some increase the crystal beauty by cutting the crystals.

Aquamarine can look like many gemstones.

People confuse with gemstones when they get them from the rocks.

An expert can check the transparency level as there are machines that can help you check the transparency levels.

Experts check the transparency level by finding the readability versions.

It is better to confirm the crystal identity with other parameters or take help from experts.

You can be sure that you an Aquamarine when you have many parameters telling the identity of the crystal.

3. You Can Tell if Aquamarine Is Real or Fake by Checking You Have a Natural or Synthetic Aquamarine

You can differentiate between the natural and synthetic Aquamarine crystals by checking the indication of the time it took to form the crystal.

There is a distinctive structure of the things made in nature.

Experts can tell the difference as they have experience in finding authentic crystals.

Aquamarine crystals form in nature in the layer form.

It takes hundreds of years to make the crystal.

Many substances can enter the crystal during the formation process to give it a specific texture.

It is not the same with synthetic crystals.

Synthetic crystals only have a single substance.

All the parts of the crystals are made with that substance.

If you look at an authentic crystal with a magnifying glass will show a change of texture in different layers. 

When the temperature is high, the layer will show more turbulence.

You will see a stable crystal structure if it is formed at a moderate temperature.

All the crystals have the same shape and orientation in the crystal when you have the synthetic one.

Some flaws are frequent in different types of Aquamarine crystals. 

An expert gem collector can identify these flaws to confirm the crystal identity.

You cannot identify the flaws and confirm the crystal identity if you do not have experience in crystal identification.

It is possible to check the synthetic Aquamarine crystals with the hardness test.

Aquamarine has a hardness score of 7.5 to 8 on the Moh hardness scale.

If the sellers present an Aquamarine crystal with a low hardness score, it is counterfeit.

Metals will make a scratch on the glass surface.

It is impossible to make a scratch on the Aquamarine crystal with a knife. 

It is also possible to check the plastic material using the hardness test.

A flame test is also an excellent way to check the authenticity of the Aquamarine crystals.

You can identify the plastic when you put the counterfeit crystals made of plastic on the flame.

It will give a bad odor of burning plastic if it is fake.

4. You Can Tell if Aquamarine Is Real or Fake by Checking for Inclusions

Aquamarine is a member of the Beryl stone family.

These stones have a hole-like structure that runs along the length of the crystals.

Most people think there are no inclusions in the Aquamarine crystals due to the high hardness score and a high level of transparency.

It is true when you want to see the inclusions with the naked eyes.

It is possible to see the inclusions using a magnifying device.

These are known as liquid inclusions.

You can look for a bubble-like hole in the crystal.

The bubble can appear like a rod in the Aquamarines. 

People put the crystals in the microscope to view the inclusions.

You can also find some mineral inclusions in the Aquamarine crystals.

Minerals can enter the crystal during the formation process.

You can see some particles of hematite in the crystal.

Hematite gives a red shade to the crystal.

High-quality aquamarine crystals do not have inclusions visible to the naked eyes.

It would help if you had a microscope to see the inclusions.

It is better to know about all the types of inclusions in the Aquamarine to ensure you get an authentic crystal.

What Are the Most Common Aquamarine Inclusions?

One of the ways to learn how to tell if Aquamarine is real or fake is by knowing all the inclusions in the Aquamarine crystals.

There is no chance of making a mistake when you know about all the types of inclusions.

If you do not know all the crystal inclusions, it can lead to confusion as you cannot be sure about the crystal identity.

Some common types of Aquamarine inclusions are listed below.

  • Biotite, hematite, and pyrite are the most common inclusions in the Aquamarine crystals. These crystals can become transparent in some crystals. Pyrine can give a silver appearance to Aquamarine. Pyrite inclusions can give a silver-like appearance to the crystal. The crystal can have Quartz, apatite, epidote, and tourmaline in the crystal structure. These minerals can appear as inclusions or as a part of the Aquamarine crystals. You can also find inclusions with the shape of snow stars in the Aquamarine crystals.
  • Snow start inclusions form due to the tine droplet in the crystal structure. It is essential to judge the identity of the crystal carefully. Aquamarine crystals can have a specific type of inclusion that never appeared in other crystals.
  • You can identify Aquamarine with the help of inclusion identification. Synthetic crystals do not have inclusions. Some high-quality Aquamarine crystals can have smaller inclusions as you need a microscope to see them.
  • You should see the inclusions in the sea-colored crystals. Inclusions can present a high level of transparency in most cases in high-quality crystals.
  • You cannot find the difference if high-quality Aquamarine and synthetic crystal because they have almost no inclusions. There are other ways to check the authenticity with the gemology tools.
  • Some sellers can treat the green stones with heat to turn them blue. These stones are not authentic Aquamarine crystals. Heat treatment can also enhance the blue color of the Aquamarine to allow sellers to charge more money for these crystals.

To Summarize: How to Tell if Aquamarine is Real or Fake

It is hard to tell the difference between authentic and fake Aquamarine if you are a beginner.

You can find the difference when you keep these points in mind.

  • Aquamarine is a blue crystal with a high hardness score.
  • You can distinguish between Aquamarine and glass with the scratch test.
  • People find it hard to identify authentic Aquamarine crystals as there are fewer inclusions in the high-quality crystals.
  • It is easy to find the difference when you know about all types of inclusions.