1.31 ct Blue Aquamarine - Cushion

At 1.31 carats, this aquamarine from Nigeria carries its blue color through a cushion cut, measuring 8.6 x 5.7 x 4.1 mm.

Aquamarine is the blue beryl, colored by iron, and grows in larger clean crystals than its cousin emerald, which is why it cuts so bright. Nigeria's gem fields rose to prominence in the 1990s and remain a significant modern source. It is entirely untreated; no heat, no enhancement, the color exactly as the earth made it.

Its exact combination of color, cut, and origin is its own, the kind of center stone you choose on purpose and build a piece around. Hand-selected and photographed by Caveman Gems in good light, shown as honestly as a screen allows.