March’s Birthstone Aquamarine
March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb and the birthstone for this month is Aquamarine. The name comes from the Latin for seawater, and it was said to calm waves and keep sailors safe at sea. March’s birthstone was also thought to enhance the happiness of marriages and is the gem of the 19th wedding anniversary. The best aquamarine gems combine high clarity with limpid transparency and blue to slightly greenish blue hues. Like many beryls, aquamarine forms large crystals suitable for sizable fashioned gems and carvings.
Aquamarine is the blue to blue-green variety of the mineral beryl; emeralds are also made out of the same mineral but green. The crystals of this gem are known to be large in size, relatively clean and well-formed, making them particularly valuable to collectors of mineral specimens. This gem on the Mohs hardness scale is between 7.5 to 8.0 making it suitable for jewelry. Aquamarine mined at high elevations and most come from Brazil.
Since early times, aquamarine has been believed to endow the wearer with foresight, courage, and happiness. It is said to increase intelligence and make one youthful. As a healing stone, it is said to be effective as a treatment for anxiety and in the Middle Ages it was thought that aquamarine would reduce the effect of poisons. Legends say that sailors wore aquamarine gemstones to keep them safe and prevent seasickness. Roman fishermen called the gemstone “water of the sea” and used it as protection, for safe travel by boat, and for luck in catching fish. Aquamarine was linked to the apostle St. Thomas who frequently traveled by boat. Roman physicians also used it to treat overeating and bloating. The Sumerians, Egyptians, Hebrews, and Greeks all admired aquamarine gemstones. Beads were discovered with Egyptian mummies. Two thousand years ago, people in Greece engraved designs into aquamarine stones, turning them into intaglios.
Faceted aquamarines are usually eye-clean (when you look at the stone you won’t see any flaws). Therefore, these gemstones are ideal for fashioning items of jewelry. If the gemstones do have obvious flaws they do not go to waste, instead, they are often used to create beads and carvings. For an aquamarine to display an intense color it ideally needs to be over 5 carats. An aquamarine’s stunning color may fade if it’s exposed to sunlight for a long period of time. That’s one reason why you should try to avoid direct sunlight while wearing an aquamarine.