Aquamarine, named for the Latin phrase “water of the sea”, is the blue to blue-green variety Beryl. Beryl also contains other gem varieties, including Emerald, and some lesser-known varieties such as Morganite and Heliodor. Aquamarine ranges in color from a faint light blue to blue and bluish-green, with lighter colored stones being the more common type.

Aquamarine is a relatively common gemstone and is affordable in lighter colors. Deeper colors can command high prices. Some enormous transparent crystal masses of Aquamarine have been found, and exquisite gems weighing thousands of carats have been cut from them.