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.

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.

When shopping for yourself, it’s sometimes hard to rationalize the cost—particularly if you’re eyeing a piece of jewelry—and the quip, “Treat yo’self” can only partially justify a lavish spend.

But if you really want a piece of fine jewelry, there are some ways to cut the financial corners to get the same look as a precious ruby, blue sapphire or emerald without spending big bucks. We review three semi-precious options that are great lookalikes for colorful expensive gemstones and are a fraction of the cost!

Ruby versus Red Spinel
A high quality, flawless-looking red ruby can easily set you back several thousand dollars—sometimes upwards of tens of thousands of dollars—depending on the size of the gemstone. But, if it’s that intense scarlet color and vibrancy that appeals to you, a red spinel looks incredibly similar to a ruby and is a fraction of the cost. (For more on the elemental and cost differences of rubies, read our post on the subject here.)

Red gemstones look equally beautiful when set in either yellow or white metals. So whether you’re looking to set the gem in a pendant or a ring, you can go with whichever metal matches your current jewelry wardrobe and be happy with your selection.

Blue Sapphire versus Kyanite
Blue sapphires are an extremely popular gemstone and, following Kate Middleton’s engagement to Prince William with a stunning 12-carat sapphire and diamond ring, the precious stone’s popularity has only sky-rocketed.

But a high-quality sapphire with great clarity and an intense blue color will run several thousand dollars for a single carat and prices soar with larger sized stones. So, if that is not in your budget, fear not. There is hope!

Mined from Cambodia, kyanite comes in a range of colors with the most desirable being in the “sapphire blue” range. Kyanite is fairly inexpensive, even in higher clarity grades, so it’s the perfect substitution, and would look perfect set in a white gold mounting surrounded by a halo of pavé diamonds.

Emerald versus Tsavorite
Shopping for a natural emerald that is bright, clean (meaning with a high clarity), and affordable can prove difficult. Most emeralds on the market are included (sometimes heavily so which happens when a material gets trapped inside the gemstone while its forming), making them look cloudy and at risk for chipping or breaking. The rarity of a bright emerald and the subsequent high price tag deters many people from buying an emerald.

Now, unlike rubies and sapphires, there really isn’t an affordable green gemstone that is a dead ringer for an emerald, but there is one that gets pretty close: tsavorite. If you find just the right shade of a deeply hued tsvaorite, the stone could be mistaken for an emerald, particularly to someone not quite as familiar with either gemstones’ characteristics. It’s a much less expensive gem and one that naturally looks great set in rich, yellow gold.

To learn more about colorful gemstones, read our post on the topic here!

Hero image courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar.