- According to Encyclopedia Americana Online, aquamarine is actually the light crystal form of the mineral beryl. In its darker form, beryl makes emeralds. It can often be heated to give it a clearer color or to change the color. Beryl is found in pegmatites, which are coarsely grained igneous rocks.
- These dikes form late in the cooling process of a granatic mass, according to Encyclopedia Americana. It says that more volatile constituents concentrate in the molten areas after the rock has partly cooled. Those constituents produce larger aquamarines as the last of the cooling process takes place.
- Aquamarines are gems, which, according to World Book Online, are just minerals. What makes gems different is that they are minerals formed under unusually good conditions that yield transparent to opaque stones without faults in them.
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