Aquamarine is the gemstone of March, and it is a blue-green gem whose name comes from the Latin term “aqua marinus”, which means “sea water”. This stone is associated with courage and bravery because in ancient times it was used against the forces of darkness and in situations of danger, attracting the spirits of light in the face of adversity, and therefore sailors carried it as a talisman to protect themselves and not succumb on their journeys.
The legend of this gemstone of March begins when it was found in the treasure chest of beautiful mermaids, so ancient seafarers made it their iconic talisman, and already in the Middle Ages it was associated with planet Neptune, when the belief that gemstones were the reflection of the cosmos and the universe took hold.
Subsequently, esotericism was taking up this belief again, which was used by the jewelry world very well by using it as a marketing resource for the promotion of a series of gemstones, where their healing properties stand out, which have always been discussed by shamans, healers, astrologers, and men of science.
In the case of aquamarine, the gemstone of March, it is believed that it works to ease certain conditions, such as eye inflation, arthritis, sore throat, and to minimize the effect of varicose veins.
Aquamarine leads us to imagine sea landscapes, with the serene and calm sea. For this reason, the gemstone of March links its bearer with peace and the development of intuition and reflection, being a good resource to relieve stress.
Because its blue color, it is related to the combination of the sea and the sky, and it is generally associated with eternal life, even in some cultures such as the Egyptian one it was believed that this gem had the power to calm relationships, especially marriages, and for this reason it became an appropriate wedding anniversary gift from ancient times.
Frequently the gemstone of March is associated with friendship, hope and fidelity because it has the property of reinforcing interaction, communication and awareness, and its intense blue color transmits that peace and serenity that every relationship requires to achieve a good understanding.
Precisely, natural aquamarines are deep blue, and also they are the most expensive and rare ones, being widely used in the world of jewelry and becoming one of the favorite gemstones of celebrities, royalty and millions of people around the world.
That beautiful color is because this gemstone is a beryl, from the same mineral group as the emerald, which is characterized by having six-sided crystals that are expansive and can be as large as a foot, which makes it ideal for the production of pieces with lots of carats that can be effectively divided and polished.
One of the advantageous properties of this gemstone of March is that it is perfect at a glance, and there are rarely visible inclusions in this way, in addition to having fewer fractures than the emerald. Their durability is high, and some of them are said to simulate the diamond perfectly.
Although most aquamarines are not subject to treatment, in some cases a heat treatment is applied so that the green tones that the gemstone could present disappear, and that many of today’s market gems have had, which is a bluish green tone. This is done because it is very difficult to find deep blue natural aquamarines, which increases the demand and its cost.
For these reasons, gemologists have sometimes resorted to applying heat-based treatment to transform darker shades into bluish shades that seem original, such as the aquamarines on the necklace and earrings that the President of Brazil gave to Queen Elizabeth of England as a present when she was crowned Queen in 1953.
But the largest aquamarine in the world is called “Dom Pedro”, in honour of Pedro I and Pedro II, the first two kings of Brazil, and which is 36 centimetres high and weighs two kilograms. It is part of a group of crystals that are found in geological deposits of pegmatite rock, whose deposits are mostly in Brazil; hence this country is the main source of this gemstone of March, followed by Pakistan, India and Madagascar.
Currently, this gem is widely used to make engagement rings, and “millennials”; that is, people born between 1981 and 1996, have made it fashionable in recent years, frequently combining them with rose gold, following the ancient tradition that the gemstone of March strengthens relationships and marriages.
ALFA