Difference Between Aquamarine and Topaz

Aquamarine vs Topaz

Do you have a ring and are confused if the gemstone attached to it is a topaz or an aquamarine? Most of the time, it is really hard to tell the difference but there are things that they really differ with each other.
First of all, aquamarine is a kind of mineral that is known as beryl. Beryl and topaz are actually two different minerals. Beryl belongs to the hexagonal crystal family while topaz belongs to the orthorhombic crystal. Aquamarine has the color of light blue to blue-green while topaz is a gem of all colors that comes in orange, sky blue, pink, light or deep blue, blue green, green, transparent, light violet and white. If you would be speaking of hardness, aquamarine tips the Mohs’ scale at 7 ½ to 8 while topaz is at tough level 8.

Etymologically speaking, the word topaz came from the name Topazos which is the ancient island in the Red Sea while aquamarine came from the Latin word that means water of the sea. Aquamarine is actually an expensive gem since it is rarely found in the market. The color of aquamarine is actually washable. It can fade if it is exposed to the sun but good colored aquamarines are really worth it. Blue topaz on the other hand is less expensive and colors do not really fade. If you do not have trusted jeweler, do not buy aquamarine since some jewelers are actually selling their blue topaz as aquamarine to earn more on their jewelry.

Another difference is the refraction property of these gems. Aquamarine has weak refraction while topaz has stronger refraction.

Though aquamarine and topaz may have the same physical properties, they still differ in hardness, composition, price as well as refraction. Aquamarine basically has blue shades while topaz comes in different colors.

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