Heating aqua to remove its green tinting is very common and used to be done as a matter of routine. Now we have a more sophisticated public and many of them are starting to appreciate the slightly green gems, knowing that they haven t been heat treated. When cutting aquamarine, depth of color is usually the primary factor to be considered. Deep designs, like barions and emerald cuts are usually preferred. Faceters should use 43 degree pavilion mains on aquamarine for the highest brilliance.
Beryls are some of the easiest gems to polish, with diamond being the most common method.
It is probably the high quality of polish that give light aquas such great brilliance they are confused with higher RI gems. While they just have moderate dispersion of .014, light stones with high crown angles will show their spectral colors well. This makes for an outstanding gemstone. While the highest values go to the richer colors, a well cut, light aquamarine is one of the most spectacular examples of the gem world.