Aquamarine

Aquamarine

Aquamarine is a blue variety of beryl. The deep blue version of aquamarine is called //maxixe//. Maxixe is commonly found in Madagascar. Its color fades to white when exposed to sunlight or is subjected to heat treatment, though the color returns with irradiation. The pale blue color of aquamarine is attributed to Fe2+. The Fe3+ ions produce golden-yellow color, and when both Fe2+ and Fe3+ are present, the color is a darker blue as in maxixe. Decoloration of maxixe by light or heat may be due to the charge transfer between Fe3+ and Fe2+. Dark-blue maxixe color can be produced in green, pink or yellow beryl by irradiating it with high-energy particles. In the United States, aquamarines can be found at the summit of Mt. Antero in the Sawatch Range in central Colorado. In Wyoming, aquamarine has been discovered in theBig Horn Mountains, near Powder River Pass. In Brazil, there are mines in the states of Minas Gerais, and Bahia, and minorly in Rio Grande do Norte. The mines of Colombia, Zambia, Madagascar, Malawi,Tanzania, and Kenya also produce aquamarine. The largest aquamarine of gemstone quality ever mined was found in Marambaia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 1910. It weighed over 242 pounds, and its dimensions were 19 inches long and 17 inches in diameter. The largest cut aquamarine gem is the Dom Pedro aquamarine, now housed in the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History.



The gemstone Aquamarine is the modern March birthstone as adopted by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. It is also the birth stone for the Zodiac sign of Scorpio. See the birth stone table for additional references to this stone. Aquamarine is suggested as a gem to give on the 16th and 19th wedding anniversaries. Aquamarine is a member of the beryl family and ranges in color from an almost colorless pale blue to blue-green or teal. The most prized color is a deep-blue aqua color. It is 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale of hardness and gets its name from Latin words meaning water and sea. The most valuable aquamarines come from Brazil, but it is also mined in Kenya and Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia. . Aquamarines on the market today are usually faceted, but when cut as a cabochon, they may display a cat's eye effect known as asterism. Some gemstones are heated to high temperatures to enhance the color and/or clarity of a stone. Aquamarines are often heat treated to change a blue-green or teal colored stone to a pure blue. This results in a permanent color change.

Since early times, aquamarine has been believed to endow the wearer with foresight, courage, and happiness. It is said to increase intelligence and make one youthful. As a healing stone, it is said to be effective as a treatment for anxiety and in the Middle Ages it was thought that aquamarine would reduce the effect of poisons. A legend says that sailors wore aquamarine gemstones to keep them safe and prevent seasickness.

Nathan Rawlins-Kibonge