Beryl var. Aquamarine

This magnificently terminated Aquamarine prism is of a beautiful bright sky blue with a superb glassy and reflective lustre.  Aquamarine is the blue variety of the beryllium aluminium silicate, Beryl.  From the gem pegmatites at Gilgit in the Northern Areas region of Pakistan, this small cabinet specimen has a perfectly flat termination with splendid bevelled faces at the juncture of the pinacoid and each prism edge.  The crystal is essentially translucent but becomes transparent towards the termination.  This zone can be described as gemmy, although wispy patches do interrupt it.  Embedded around the prism’s base at one side are part and complete hexagonal crystals of silvery-grey Muscovite mica with crystals up to 1.8 cm wide.  This is a most attractive Aquamarine which will look striking in any display.