Aquamarine

This crystal carries the color of deep glacial water and ancient seas—its name drawn from the Latin aqua marina, meaning “water of the sea.” Aquamarine is the blue-green variety of beryl, a mineral that forms slowly over millions of years in the cooling pockets of granite pegmatites, where superheated fluids rich in rare elements crystallize under intense pressure and heat.

Composed of beryllium aluminum silicate, aquamarine’s color comes from trace amounts of iron that substitute into the crystal lattice during growth— an atomic signature of the specific conditions present deep within Earth’s crust at the time of its formation. Some aquamarine crystals grow to massive sizes, forming over geological timescales as tectonic forces create the fractures and voids that allow minerals to accumulate and crystallize layer by layer.

The hexagonal structure of beryl gives aquamarine its natural six-sided form, and its hardness and clarity make it both a gemstone and a geological record—each crystal a time capsule from the ancient interiors of mountain roots and continental collisions.

Includes a 1-2" geological specimen.