Birthstone: March
Variety: Beryl
Chemical Composition: Beryllium Aluminum Cyclosilicate
Hardness: 7.5-8
Specific Gravity: average 2.72(-.05, +.12)
Refractive Index: 1.57-1.59
Color: blue-green, light blue, blue, varying from Iron levels. They are also heat treated to produce brighter colors.
Where Found: The finest come from Russia, Pakistan, and Brazil. Found in Colorado and Wyoming in US.

Aquamarine Folklore

Name for Latin phrase ‘water of the sea’, prized by those traveling by sea. Said to increase intelligence and happiness and make one youthful. Also a healing ailment for anxiety, and was said to reduce effect of poisons and prevent sea-sickness.

Ellie's Take On Aquamarine

When I think of Aquamarine, I think of my Dad, Ralph Stroup, and our buying trips together. My Dad is an avid collector of natural mineral specimens. One year our travels took us to the Tuscon Gem and Mineral Show. While everyone in Chicago was busy digging out from yet another snowstorm, we hiked the Arizona desert and visited one mineral dealer after another in search of the perfect “rock” on his list for his collection, a nice Aquamarine in matrix. Now, the Tuscon Gem and Mineral Show is a unique experience. It is an annual February gathering that has spanned more than 3 decades, while the high end dealers, sellers of finely cut, unmounted gemstones, take up booth spaces in the convention center, purveyors from around the world also set up shop in several shows held in tents and hotel ballrooms around Tuscon. But, many would say “The Real Tuscon Show” takes place in the many motels lining the streets of Tuscon. For two weeks or more, miners, cutters, and adventurers of all stripes lay out boxes of mineral specimens, natural crystals in their host matrix, tumbled rough, carvings, and fossils of all sizes, shapes, qualities and prices. This is my Dad’s favorite hunting grounds-rubbing shoulders with other “rock hounds” I follow Dad from room to room as we inspect the prettiest crystals and quietly compare prices. We hear stories both mundane and fantastic about the origins of these natural beauties.