Keywords:
Cooling, soothing, enhancement of clear communication
Birthstone:
Aquamarine is the birthstones for the month of March.
Zodiac:
Aquamarine is the zodiac stone for Scorpio (October 23 – November 21)
Wedding anniversary:
Aquamarine is the anniversary gemstone for the 16th and 19th year of marriage.
Affirmation:
I embody the yielding, cooling power of water, and I express my truth with calm certainty.
Aquamarine, derived from Latin words for sea and water, is a pale greenish blue or bluish green variety of beryl. Other varieties include emerald and heliodor. Aquamarine is the most common variety of gem beryl and forms much larger and clearer crystals than emerald.
It is mined at most localities which yield ordinary beryl, some of the finest coming from Russia. The gem-gravel placer deposits of Sri Lanka contain aquamarine. Clear yellow beryl, such as occurs in Brazil, is sometimes called aquamarine chrysolite. When corundum presents the bluish tint of typical aquamarine, it is often termed Oriental aquamarine. The deep blue version of aquamarine is called maxixe. Its color fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, though the color returns with irradiation.
In the United States, aquamarines can be found at the summit of Mt. Antero in the Sawatch Range in central Colorado and also in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, North Carolina and Vermont. Aquamarine is also found in Brazil, India, Russia and in a number of exotic places including Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Pakistan and Mozambique. Brazil is the source of the finest aquamarines.
A beautiful and affordable gemstone, Aquamarine is found in a range of blue shades, from the palest pastel to greenish-blue to a deep blue. While the choice of color is largely a matter of taste, the deeper blue gems are more rare. Aquamarine is a pastel gemstone, and while color can be quite intense in larger gemstones, the smaller Aquamarines are often less vivid.
There is hardly any other gemstone in modern jewellery design which is refined in such a variety of ways as aquamarine. Whether it is fashioned as a clear, transparent gem in the classical step cut, or creatively cut in a more modern design, it is always fascinatingly beautiful. Uncut too, or with many inclusions which can be brought into play by the designer in the way in which the stone is cut, it can be refined to produce the most beautiful creations.