The new showcase dedicated to Italian jewelry design is set for Oct. 29-30.
Rocks On: Aquamarine’s Reawakening
The blue stone is enjoying a renaissance right now because of the Pantone Colors of the Year and the bridal market’s penchant for color.

New York--Aquamarine has long enjoyed popularity as the birthstone for the month of March and for its popular blue hues.
“Americans and really people all over the world are infatuated with the color blue,” Arun Bassalali, president of Lali Jewels, said.
In the last few years, however, the stone has moved past this association and into being a year-round stone, with more and more jewelry designers incorporating it into their pieces.
Blue colors also continued to trend during the Las Vegas trade shows, especially on the lighter end of the spectrum due to Pantone’s Colors of the Year, and aquamarine specifically had a strong presence on the show floors.
“As part of the beryl family, it played second fiddle to the big brother emerald for many years and, more recently, to the little sister morganite,” Bassalali said. “But the middle child, aqua, has always been and will continue to be tried and true.”
Aquamarine’s upper hand
Demand for the gem has been fairly steady for the past few years.
Gemstone cutter John Dyer said that he sells a lot of aquamarine, with a “new demand source” for the stone coming from the burgeoning colored stone bridal trends.
“I’m seeing more and more people wanting to put it in engagement rings,” Dyer said, adding that it’s probably his third most popular colored stone for bridal, behind sapphire and morganite.
Aquamarine also has come to the forefront as a premium gem with great color and quality, providing collectors with a great option, and continues to benefit from the fact that it now seems to be something of a staple.
Aquamarine is, Dyer said, his favorite stone to cut--the gem comes quite clean and in good sizes, and is relatively easy to work with because it isn’t overly heat sensitive. All of these factors speak to a custom cutter like Dyer.
It’s also easier to polish, which jives with his unusual techniques, and it’s faster for Dyer to cut aquamarine than it is to cut, for example, a quartz or an amethyst.
“What used to be primarily sold only as a birthstone item in March has really developed into a year-round seller. When this happened a few years back, the supply took some time before it was able to follow suit.”--Arun Bassalali, Lali JewelsIts lighter saturation, as well, plays well with a wide variety of cutting styles.
“Concave faceting, for example, tends
This gives aquamarine an added benefit over some other stones in how creative cutters can be and what cuts can be featured to show off the blue hues.
The supply side
Aquamarine seems to have successfully moved beyond its association as a birthstone.
“What used to be primarily sold only as a birthstone item in March has really developed into a year-round seller,” Bassalali said. “When this happened a few years back, the supply took some time before it was able to follow suit.”
Another huge factor in the stone’s lack of availability in recent years has been the Chinese market, according to Dyer. Chinese buyers were buying a lot of tourmaline, sapphire and, to a slightly lesser extent, aquamarine.
This meant a huge new market for gemstones that was growing quickly, resulting in a large number of buyers traveling globally to get more goods.
“But a lot of (these people) are relatively new to the gem trade, and they were just paying whatever they had to pay at the mines in Africa, and they were very rapidly inflating the prices on many kinds of rough,” Dyer said.
This drove up the price of many gems.
But the American market, he noted, “is not used to such wild price fluctuations as the Chinese market is or other overseas markets,” so supply of rough for a number of gems, including aquamarine, was really tight for a few years.
Then two major factors started to have a huge impact on the Chinese gem market: their financial crisis, and the Chinese government’s crackdown on corruption, which has affected many luxury goods as spending on gift giving was curbed.
Now, there’s a greater availability of aquamarine than there was two to three years ago and supply is more stable.
“I’ve been able to purchase a ‘reasonable’ amount--not tons of it, but a reasonable amount--recently at reasonable prices,” Dyer said.
Dyer does a lot of his own travel to Brazil to buy aquamarine at the source but less so to Africa, as his job doesn’t allow for the months of travel time that could be required for that.
Rather, he said he has people who visit Nigeria and Tanzania for him, as most production of aqua these days is coming from some parts of Africa, he said.
Price
Prices have been high when compared six or seven years ago, Dyer said, due in large part to the effect of the Chinese market. But then again, there aren’t many gems that haven’t gone up in price since then.
Mona Khan of Vista Gems said the increase in price that happened a few years also affected their sales of aquamarine. The prices went too high, she said, and even though they bought it then the demand just wasn’t there.
Even today, when they continue to try to sell their inventory at lower prices, the demand still doesn’t seem to be there, she said, as she doesn’t see the same popularity in the blue stone from her buyers that others have noted. The only thing that wasn’t hurt were cabochon aquamarines, which are cheaper than the faceted stones and continued to sell just fine.
These days, a finished piece of aquamarine from Dyer with a better medium color in and a nice cut could sell for between $180 and $250 per carat.
Interestingly, Dyer noted that he generally sees that the pricing of cut stones usually are a bit behind the overall market trends. The rough he buys often doesn’t get cut for a year or two after purchase, so if he buys it at a more affordable cost today, he also can sell it for cheaper two or three years down the road.
On the other hand, when the market makes it difficult to sell cut stones and the prices decrease, it often doesn’t make its way back to rough prices for a while, which means that dealers might be trying to sell their inventory at a lower price but the price of rough to purchase new material hasn’t gotten cheaper along with it.
Both Bassalali and Dyer indicated that they expect aquamarine prices to increase only slightly over the next few years, if at all.
“A lot of it depends on the Chinese market and where it goes,” Dyer said.
The Latest

Take a gaze at the sky with this pair of platinum diamond-set star earrings with blue lace agate drops.

In 2026, the jewelry retailer will celebrate a milestone only a small percentage of family-owned businesses survive to see.

You deserve to know what you are selling–to protect your customers as well as your business and your reputation.

Jeffrey Zimmer's decades of leadership at Reeds Jewelers are defined by integrity, a love of sourcing gemstones, and a heart for community.


The new high jewelry design and production process takes 30 days or less from concept to completion, the auction house said.

The holiday catalog for 2025 features never-before-seen images of more than 100 one-of-a-kind masterpieces.

The upcoming show provides savvy retailers with the opportunity to stock their cases with best sellers in advance of the holiday season.

The brand has released a second installment of its collection of traditional and non-traditional commitment heirlooms.

Corey rescued New England chain Day’s Jewelers, preserving its legacy with strong people skills, pragmatism, and a “get-it-done” attitude.

Charles Robinson Shay was sentenced to life in prison plus 120 years while his accomplice, Michael James McCormack, got 75 years.

The Museum of Arts and Design's new exhibition features 75 pieces by the designer, best known for her work in the “Black Panther” films.

Timepieces at Luxury will take place at The Venetian and, like Luxury, will be invitation-only for the first two days.

The auction house named a new global head of jewelry, as well as a new head of the jewelry department for the Americas.

As chairman of Schwanke-Kasten Jewelers, Tom Dixon has been tasked with honoring the past and shaping the future of the family-run store.

Katty Villapando Lyte and Mica Rencher received a $10,000 grant for their business, Shimmer Culture LLC.

The parents of the Dallas Mavericks rookie bought their engagement ring at a Day’s store in Bangor, Maine, in 1997.

The trio of Advent calendars include a version with 18-karat gold and lab-grown diamond jewelry in a red lacquer jewelry box.

Created in collaboration with Nymphenburg Porcelain, the lock is part of a four-piece collection that took two years to bring to fruition.

Jewelry industry veteran Alisa Bunger has taken on the role.

“The Winter Egg” set the world auction record for a Fabergé piece twice at previous Christie’s sales.

The company will pay 1.5x silver’s current spot price for each pound of silver oxide batteries submitted.

The line includes a “Shadow” series crafted exclusively for the new men’s offering and reimagined styles from the brand’s core collections.

The rough on offer was recovered from a newer area at the Montepuez mine.

The retailer’s new collection of engagement rings and fashion jewelry is set with natural diamonds that are traceable via blockchain.

The champagne colorway in her newest “Ombré” collection combines white and trendy brown diamonds, a departure from her usual vibrant hues.

Kosann partnered with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, to create a set of necklaces inspired by the artwork on samurai sword handguards.