This is an irradiated product and the color isn t stable. These have mostly disappeared from the market, but if you are ever offered a very deep blue aquamarine, be cautious. You can distinguish the Maxixe from a natural aquamarine by its pleochroism and its spectrum. In natural aquamarine there is distinct blue and colorless dichroism. The Maxixe aqua has no pleochroism and is blue in every direction.
Most aquamarines come out of the ground with a greenish tint.
This will disappear, leaving a pure blue color by heating to 375 degrees Centigrade. 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.