Clarity of Aquamarine
Ideally, an aquamarine gemstone is perfectly clear. An aquamarine with many inclusions (internal imperfections) is usually less sparkly. This is because the inclusions get in the way of the light that passes through the stone to our eyes. When the gemstones are very included so that they are “milky” or slightly opaque, they are much less valuable. If a stone is too clouded to allow for a good sparkle, it will not be faceted, because – what would the point be? We would not be able to see the sparkle from the facets.
In mostly clear, faceted peices of aquamarine, a few inclusions can reduce value but not by a lot. Aquamarine is one of the gemstones that can be found readily with very good to perfect clarity.
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| Terrible Clarity: These aquamarine beads are worth very little because of their poor clarity. They are too opaque to sparkle properly, so instead of being faceted, they were made into beads. One of these beads would not be worth more than $5. | Very Poor Clarity: This aquamarine has very poor clarity. A variety of inclusions inside the stone make it less transparent and spotty. This detracts significantly from its value. | Fair Clarity: There are slight inclusions (impurities) throughout this aquamarine gemstone. | Perfect Clarity: This aquamarine is perfectly clear. |
