Awesome Aquamarine!
Updated: May 4, 2022
Aquamarine as its name suggests is linked to the sea and has some of the properties of water. These rare light blue/green stones reflect light beautifully.Used in jewellery since at least 500 BC, its tropical ocean blue tones effortlessly invoke images of landless skies and the waters below. Once believed to be the treasure of mermaids, it was often worn by sailors and travelers as a talisman to protect against being shipwrecked and to ward off sea sickness.
Aquamarine is mostly found and mined in Brazil and countries that fall along the Mozambique geological belt in Africa, though there are other sources. Part of the Beryl family they are in their nature soft porous stones. They are indeed very precious and you have to be a bit careful wearing them every day!
Everything that the endless blue ocean represents is included in the meaning of this stone. It represents exhilaration as well as relaxing calm. It is a stone that encourages you to let go of your feelings and cleanses evil thoughts and barrier-inducing experiences. The stone inspires trust and truth.
The reflective properties of this transparent blue mineral are connected to how the sky is reflected on the sea surface. It encourages reflective relaxation and calm, improving communication.
Aquamarine was believed to both soothe and prolong relationships, and for this reason is often given as an anniversary gift way before its official listing for the 19th wedding anniversary.
Colour ranges from deep blue to pale blue and a bluish green. Santa Maria Aquamarine describes those with a deeper shade of blue than normal. The name is derived from the Santa Maria de Itabira gem mines of Brazil, where deep and vibrant Aquamarines have been found - not, as some people believe, from the name of the ship on which Christopher Columbus made his first cross Atlantic voyage, or indeed from Santa Maria city in California.
GEMOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF AQUAMARINE
Color Light blue (sometimes greenish blue)
Family Beryl
Mohs Scale Hardness 7.5 - 8
Specific Gravity 2.68 - 2.79
Refractive Index 1.567 - 1.590
Lustre Vitreous
Crystal System Hexagonal
Transparency Transparent to opaque
Chemical Formula Be3Al2Si6O18
Composition Beryllium Aluminum Silicate
