We have all seen innumerable aquamarines from modern finds here. However, every now and then, one stands out. For size and price range, this piece just screams quality and is one of my all time favorite aquas I have handled, amidst some far pricier. It is so elegant in first glance, you think it must be repaired. But it is in fact totally complete, all around 360 degrees, and pristine. An exquisite specimen! Crystals, to 7 cm, are obscenely gemmy and have the best Pakistani blue color you can ask for (especially since color here is generally volumetric and smaller crystals are seldom this rich). This piece came out some time ago and has been in the collection of Marshall and Charlotte Sussman for at least 5 years. They collect African minerals, not aquas! They just loved this piece and, after obtaining it in a collection, simply could never put it up for sale just because they liked looking at it for so long. For more or less the same money, there are lots of "nice" aquas out there. Many bigger. Few as special as this.Joe Budd Photos