Sea Blue Birthstone of Aquamarine for March

Aquamarine Gemstone
Oval  Cut

The standard birthstone for March is the aquamarine.  This stone ranges in blue colors from so pale it is almost white as in ice blue to a bright turquoise-ish or ocean-blue color.  Aquamarine is in the beryl family with the May birthstone emerald.  It is on the Mohs hardness scale of 8 just under the corundum stones of ruby and sapphire, which are 9 – diamonds are 10 the hardest.

When looking to purchase aquamarine, search for quality and a good blue color.  To avoid the washed out versions that look more white than blue, expect to pay a high price.   Because aquamarine prices are expensive, many people choose to substitute their birthstone jewelry with a shade of blue topaz, which is the December semi-precious birthstone.  Blue topaz stone goes from almost clear glacier blue – to sky blue (most bought color) - to Swiss blue (turquoise-ish) – to darker shades in the London ranges.  Do you get a little more color variety and some neat names.

Another options instead of the translucent faceted version of blue beryl, a new version called milky aquamarine is gaining in popularity.  Milky is an opaque stone with more of a blue-green/aqua-tint than that of a Larimar stone (aka the Atlantis stone) which is also becoming very popular in jewelry.  If blue is not a favorite color, then consider aquamarine’s sister beryl stone - the pink Morganite.  Or try one of the more rare beryls in yellow Helidor or white Goshenite.

By the way, aquamarine is also one of the astal stones for the astrology sign Aquarius.  If desired, someone born under that sign could consider it as an alternative to their month’s birthstone.  Aquamarine is also the traditional anniversary stone for the 19^th year.

Other names has carried in aquamarine history are: love stone, mermaid stone, and sailors gem. More folklore, history, and tips of care and cleaning at AlluringBody.