Topic of the Month: Aquamarine - the March Birthstone

This month we are featuring aquamarine, the official birthstone for the month of March. Aquamarine is a precious gemstone in the beryl family, which is the same family of minerals that contains emeralds. Emeralds are part of the “precious four,” meaning the 4 most precious gemstones in the world: diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires. Aquamarine is a very hard gemstone, and has a very translucent type luster. Even though Aquamarine is in the same family as emerald, they are some key differences as to why they turn out differently. Emerald gets its color from trace amounts of chromium, whereas aquamarine is what you get when a colorless beryl crystal has iron impurities in it. They otherwise alike in many other respects, such as their gravity and refractive index. Emerald is usually more cloudy and full on inclusions, whereas aquamarine is extremely clear. Aquamarine is considered to be between a 7.5 and 8 on the Mohs scale of mineral hardness, which is quite hard (diamonds are a 10, the highest of all minerals).

How can you identify aquamarine? Well, it's actually pretty simple. Aquamarine is a shade of blue that is just like the sea. It's a very hard stone, and has excellent clarity and translucent qualities. Most other gems do not have the same kind of clarity. The value of an aquamarine is basically based on the intensity of the stone's color, and the cut of the stone. Deeper, more intense blues are considered to be more valuable and desirable, but pale blue aquamarines are also beautiful and valuable. The more deep the blue, the higher the value. These are the rarest kinds of aquamarines.  The most transparent and clear stones are also the most valuable. Aquamarine cut come in all kinds of different cuts ranging from oval, round, pear-shaped, brilliant-cut, and emerald-cut. Emerald cut is typically considered the most sought after. Aquamarines usually receive heat treatment at low heat to enhance the color, which also helps to reduce shades of unwanted green and yellow. 

To care for and clean your aquamarine jewelry, you should follow a few rules of thumb. Don't wear your aquamarine jewelry when working with harsh chemicals, though washing your hands is fine. To keep it from scratching, always keep your aquamarines separate from your other stones so they don't scratch each other. To clean the stone, use warm water and soap, and then simply dry the stone with a soft cloth. When you aren't using your aquamarine jewelry, be sure to wrap them in a soft cloth. 

Information sourced from http://www.gemselect.com/gem-info/aquamarine/aquam...