Is it an Aquamarine or Aqua Aura crystal? Avoid this common mistake! These two different crystals can be confused or misidentified. Learn how to identify which is which.
I have been on Pinterest for quite a few of years now and love the crystal community that is growing there. When I search ‘Aquamarine Crystal’ there are two photos that come up at the top of the search which actually show Aqua Aura Quartz crystals. They are labeled as Aquamarine with details about this stone. What is worrying is that they have been shared a total of 23000 times!
That’s 23000 people who thought Aqua Aura was Aquamarine… Although it is just a mistake the problem is thousands of people are going to learn from these incorrect photo examples.
Why These Two Crystals Get Confused
The confusion seems to stem from the name as both have ‘Aqua’ in them and both crystals have a blue green colour. Although lower grade Aquamarine stones look nothing like Aqua Aura, the clear blue green gem quality crystals can look pretty similar. Let’s look at these two minerals in more detail:
What Exactly is Aquamarine?
Aquamarine is a natural stone which comes in two colours. A sea green and a blue variety. It is Beryllium Aluminium Silicate and grows as hexagonal crystals. Its hardness is 7.5.
What Exactly is Aqua Aura?
Aqua Aura is a natural crystal which has been enhanced. It is mostly made from Quartz Crystal (Silicon Dioxide) which is bonded with precious metals such as Gold creating a clear blue green colour coating. Quartz grows also grows into hexagonal crystals. Its hardness is 7.
Avoid This Common Mistake!
So you can see these are actually very different crystals. I hope I did not blind you with the science but it will help as I explain the differences in formations.
What I see a lot of in groups and forums is many people try to identify crystals only by their colour.
This is not a very accurate way to identify stones! The formations are often your best way to spot the difference. Try to use a combination of colour and natural crystal formations if possible to identify crystals yourself. Now let me show you how to tell if it is an Aquamarine or Aqua Aura crystal:
How To Identify Aquamarine:
• Crystals grow six sided with flat top terminations
• There is no metallic sheen on the surface
• There are no rainbow colours on the surface
• The colour runs all the way through the crystal
• Crystals often have pearly white minerals attached
• Crystals can have black Tourmaline attached
• Rarely sold as Clusters and would be very expensive
• Can be misty, milky or opaque
• Comes in many shades of pale green to deep blue
• High clarity blue crystals are more expensive
• Has been mined for hundreds of years
How To Identify Aqua Aura Quartz:
• Crystals are commonly six sided with pointed terminations
• They have a bright metallic sheen on the surface
• Have rainbow colour on parts of the surface
• The blue colour is only on the surface, they are clear inside
• Crystals do not have other minerals attached
• Commonly sold as Crystal Points or Clusters
• Has a high clarity even as a Tumble Stone
• Always has a teal or ice blue colour
• Has only been available since the 1980’s
Are there any crystals that you struggle to identify or that get misidentified online? I would love to hear from you in the comments below (Please keep any questions you have on topic if you want a response).
If you’re interested in learning more about crystals and Crystal Healing do check out my FREE Crystal Healing Resources page.
With gratitude,
Ethan
www.ethanlazzerini.com
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Copyright © Ethan Lazzerini
Awesome article, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
awesome job and so needed! i have studied crystals for about the same amount of time as you have and have been around them for many more years just enjoying (and learning). one thing i see today is everyone is an “expert” and not only id by color but also by “i have”s; such as i have a stone just like that and bought it as…” to me the biggest problem seems to be they buy from an ignorant or dishonest seller who misnames a stone then they swear that seller is correct without once doing any research at all so they buy a labradorite stone that is actually an agate but swear they trust their seller therefore it is what they bought it as.
i would love to see more articles like this one. maybe you can do a few more on stones like bloodstone (heliotrope) vs any ole stone with red spots, amazonite vs chinese amazonite (which is not even a feldspar), tiger iron (i have seen some gorgeous banded stones without any tiger eye in them named this (beautiful but not tiger iron) and unikite (epidote and pink feldspar) as a name being given to just about anything green with or without any warm colored mineral mixed in – i could go on and on but this would be a good start – if you want to carry on with this.
thanks for teaching the people what they have <3
Thanks for the feedback and great ideas Crystal. It can be a minefield and yes sellers often misell stones. Will be doing more of these in the future 🙂
Your site is well informing readers of cystals. Thank you so much for your help, really inspires to share the information around. Love and gratitude, Urmila.
Thank you, I really appreciate it!
Hello, I get confused on identifying the black crystals/stones such as obsidian. onyx, tourmaline, jet, etc..
I have a tumbled Sodalite and a lapis lazuli that look nearly identical, how can. I tell the difference?
I am interested in buying Aqua Aura crystal in taobao china. But when i search and translate with chrome, I mostly get Aquamarine.
Can you give me the chinese name for Aqua Aura?
Hi Danny, sorry I don’t know. You might be able to find it in a crystal book that is translated into Chinese? Or it might be easier to buy online internationally.
I recently bought what was supposed to be aqua aura but it is still clear with a gold sheen visible on one side. Is it something else. Any info much appreciated, thanks
Not sure, Aqua Aura Quartz is clear. There are so many auras now, normally the sheen is other colors but it might have some gold
I found these gems stones in a gravel bed near the pear river in lousiana. Basically naturally tumbled. Found 5 different hues of blue. Love some help identifying? I can send pics
I feel it should be noted here that Aquamarine crystals can, in rare cases, be terminated. I have a tiny one, so I do speak from personal experience.
Love and Light.