The primary birthstone for the month of March is a blueish-colored form of the mineral beryl that goes by the name aquamarine.
The Origins and Cultural Significance of Aquamarine
The name aquamarine stems from the Latin words aqua (meaning “water”), and marina or marīnus (meaning “of the sea”). Often found in deposits that follow river and stream beds, the gem was believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to have protective abilities. Fishermen and sailors often carried it on their journeys to ensure a safe voyage. According to lore, the Roman author and naval commander Pliny the Elder believed that the gemstone once belonged to the treasures of the mermaids because of its rumored healing powers.
Queen Elizabeth II’s Aquamarine and Diamond Necklace, a Coronation Gift from Brazil
Noteworthy Aquamarine Jewels
The gemstone has also found various places with which to make itself famous throughout history. For example, aquamarine was used in a perfectly-matched necklace and earring set gifted to Queen Elizabeth II for her coronation in 1953 by the president and people of Brazil, who also eventually gifted her with a matching bracelet. In 1957, Queen Elizabeth II ordered royal jeweler Garrard to complete the set through the creation of a tiara, which used an aquamarine at its highest center point. She eventually had the tiara redesigned in 1971 so that it would take four scroll ornaments from an aquamarine and diamond head jewel given to the Queen by the governor of São Paulo in 1968.
Another famous aquamarine is the roughly 100-pound Dom Pedro Aquamarine which was cut by Bernd Munsteiner out of a stone mined in 1980 in Pedra Azul in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The obelisk-shaped gem is a 10,363-carat masterpiece with dimensions measuring roughly 14 inches tall by 4 inches wide and is currently on display at the National Museum of Natural History’s Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology after being donated to the Smithsonian by its owners, Jane Mitchell and Jeffery Bland.
The Properties and Hardness of Aquamarine
The gemstone – one of the many varieties of the mineral beryl – is a pale blue, almost the color of the sea. It’s not to be confused with maxixe, the darker, more intensely blue version of aquamarine. As with any colored gemstone, the purer and more vivid the color of the stone is, the more valuable it turns out to be. The gem is primarily found in a handful of mines in Brazil but has also been mined in Nigeria, Kenya, Madagascar, Zambia, Colombia, Pakistan, Malawi, Mozambique, and parts of the United States.
Aquamarine’s composition is beryllium aluminum silicate and its chemical formula is Be3Al2Si6O18. The gemstone falls between 7.5 and 8.0 on the Mohs hardness scale, and its rock type is igneous. It is a beautifully hued gem that can have its color altered by using heat treatments, but that often doesn’t occur unless the stone has more of a greenish hue. In higher qualities (inclusion-free and deep blue in color), the gem alone can be quite expensive, but on the market, the stone will likely be found mounted in platinum or other white metals and accompanied by diamond accents in pieces such as pendants, earrings, rings, and bracelets.