Aventurine

Aventurine is a very affordable gem material that is a rock-like form of quartz. Its most famous and popular color is green, caused by inclusions (other minerals that grow inside it) of green mica. Aventurine also occurs in orange, brown, white and grey.

The Most Valuable Aventurine

The most valuable aventurine is a bright green with sparkly flakey green inclusions visible from within the stone. A large, expertly carved and perfectly polished piece will also be worth more.

Here is a Summary of Aventurines of Different Levels of Quality and Value:

Lowest Value: These green aventurine beads have poor color – a murky greyish brownish light green as well as poor clarity: they do not glow with subtle translucence. Moderate Value: These green aventurine beads have very good color, with streaks of mica inclusions. However, clarity is poor, they are small, and most importantly, they are poorly shaped and chipped. High Value: This aventurine bead has very good color and very good clarity. We can also see the filaments of mica inside the bead. This bead is also bigger than the ones before. Higher Value: This is a very large piece of fine aventurine. The best things about it are it’s flaky sparkly mica inclusions and its very large size.

6 Things You Should Know Before Buying Aventurine

 

    1. Color: Color is the most important thing to look for when choosing your aventurine. You will want to look for bright, highly saturated color with the right inclusions. how COLOR affects the value of aventurine
    2. Carving and Polishing: Because aventurine is a relatively less costly material, the value of a piece is largely affected by its craftsmanship: how well or intricatly carved, how perfect its polish, etc. how CARVING and DESIGN affect the value of aventurine
    3. Clarity: Aventurine ranges in clarity to opaque (rock like) to a semi-opaque that nearly glows. Additionally, unlike most gemstones for which inclusions lesson value, the right kind of inclusions (which make clarity LESS) will actually enhance the value of the aventurine. Learn how CLARITY affects the value of aventurine.
    4. Size: As with all gem materials, size matters. Though in the case of aventurine, it definately takes a back seat to color, craftsmanship and clarity, all things being equal, the bigger the piece, the more valuable.
    5. Treatments: Because aventurine is not expensive material, it is not widely imitated. However, lower grade material is enhanced sometimes through dying. Read here to learn about Aventurine treatments and how to tell the difference.
    6. Meaning and Symbology: Aventurine is rich in history and metaphysical properties. Learn more about Aventurine meaning and symbology to see if it’s something you relate to.