Aquamarine engagement rings are a great choice whether you are getting engaged for the first time or not. Normally you see this sea foam blue green member of the beryl family of gemstones (which also includes emerald) in cocktail gemstone rings or birthstone rings.
Do not be afraid of using this great gemstone as your engagement ring’s center stone. If you are not too hardwearing on your rings and love the serene, tranquil look of aquamarine, then you need to ignore all the naysayers that insist you follow tradition’s dictates.
This is also suitable for women born in March who wish to use their birthstone as their engagement ring center stone.
Aquamarine Engagement Ring Costs
An aquamarine engagement ring does not have to be expensive even thought the better qualities do cost upwards of $100 per carat at retail.
Better quality gemstones that you see in expensive looking aquamarine diamond engagement rings generally have a deeper color whose hue is on the bluish side rather then the sea foam green that you are used to seeing in cheap birthstone jewelry.
The price also goes up dramatically in this higher quality as the size goes up. If you’re comparing engagement rings with aquamarine vs those with diamonds then it makes sense for you to go for the deeper colored stones that are distinctly blue in color. Diamonds cost way more per carat than aquamarines so you would not be overspending.
Aquamarine Gemstone Characteristics
Aquamarine is considered a class 3 stone in that it generally comes clean unlike its sibling emerald which generally comes included and needs to be treated with oil to hide the many surface reaching fissures and fractures.
It also will be found in bigger sizes of 3 carats or more without becoming unduly expensive unless the color is truly top notch. In any case the cost never approaches that of diamonds of the same quality expectation.
This being the case, you can expect to find a tremendous variety of shapes available in aquamarine. From a stylistic point of view this is good because your choice is limitless in terms of the style of mounting that can be used.
Antique Aquamarine Engagement Rings
Aquamarine never comes in a saturated hue the way emeralds, rubies, sapphires and countless other gemstones do.The color is always reminicent of light ocean colors that you see close to the shore of an island.
Nevertheless it is still a compelling color that appeals to many women because this allows for the mounting to shine as well. This is why antique aquamarine engagement rings and vintage aquamarine engagement rings are so popular.
With a deep colored gemstone like emerald or even tanzanite, often the stylistic subtleties and themes in a hand fashioned mounting gets lost because the attention getter is the gemstone rather than the ring.
This is even true of diamonds because although generally engagement ring diamonds are colorless, they are the center of attention because of their head riveting optics and light return capabilities when cut right. However when it comes to aquamarine and diamond engagement rings, you see the style of the mounting as well.
Best Metals For Your Aquamarine Engagement Ring
Aquamarine goes with white metals the best. With yellow gold the subtle blue hue tends to not show up as well against the dominating hue of yellow gold.
This is not to say that aquamarine does not look good in yellow gold. It does hold its own even in as saturated a yellow gold as 22k.
However for engagement ring purposes I would go for white gold, platinum, palladium and even sterling silver. The neutral backdrop allows the beautiful soft nature of aquamarine’s color to come forth.
This is what you want in an engagement ring. You are not attempting to make a grand stylistic statement with your aquamarine engagement ring. You want the important qualities that aquamarine is symbolic of like faithfulness, courage and friendship to shine through.
It also has a reputation for having a rather soothing effect on a couple that has just been married and are going through teething pains in making adjustments to the marriage. It is also the birthstone of Pisces along with bloodstone.
Many people feel that aquamarine is very characterstic of Pisces people in general because Pisces people often have that sensitive dreamy quality about them that is hard to decipher. They are a water sign and so aquamarine is an apt birthstone.
