Aquamarine - Specimen

Locality: Shigar Valley, Skardu District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Description: This aquamarine comes from the Shigar Valley in Baltistan, in the high Karakoram of northern Pakistan. The valley lies about 32 km northeast of Skardu, and its gem-bearing pegmatite dikes are exposed at high altitude along the Shigar and Braldu rivers, much of it reachable only by jeep track. Gemmologists at GIA describe northern Pakistan as an increasingly important source of aquamarine, with the Shigar, Hunza and Braldu valleys among the main areas.

Geologists from the University of Peshawar mapped these pegmatites as part of the Karakoram Axial Batholith, intruded into the metamorphic rocks of the Karakoram Metamorphic Complex where the Karakoram plate meets the Kohistan-Ladakh island arc. The gems grow in pockets in the coarse-grained zones of the dikes. Black schorl tourmaline turns up almost everywhere in the valley, alongside topaz, green fluorite, garnet, morganite and quartz.

This aquamarine specimen shows a clean, pale blue color with a well-defined hexagonal crystal form. The main crystal is blocky and translucent, with natural surface textures and minor etching that reflect its growth environment. Attached at the base are smaller aquamarine crystals along with white matrix material and thin, bladed inclusions—likely muscovite or feldspar—giving the piece a balanced, natural composition.

Aquamarine is the blue variety of beryl, forming in pegmatites where mineral-rich fluids cool slowly enough to allow large crystals to develop. The blue color comes from trace amounts of iron within the crystal structure.

Aquamarine is often associated with clarity, calm thinking, and steady communication. It’s commonly chosen by people looking for something that feels clean, cooling, and mentally grounding.

Quantity: 1pc
With this product, you will get the actual stone in the photograph.