Aquamarine Gemstone Vancouver

The birthstone for March, the Aquamarine is a gem of incredible beauty that is loved by women the world over because it compliments every skin tone and every eye colour. It is also a favourite with gem designers and cutters for it inspires them to create new artistic cuts again and again. Its colour is blue like the lucid blue of the ocean or the blue of the summer sky and is therefore said to be a divine, eternal colour that evokes feelings of harmony, trust, and sympathy.

The name, Aquamarine, comes from the Latin ‘Aqua’ meaning water and ‘mare’ or marine meaning sea. Its colour is identical to that of the Light Blue Topaz and therein lies the potential for fraud perpetrated by unscrupulous dealers who, whether accidentally or on purpose, may sell you a blue topaz, which is generally cheaper, as an Aquamarine.

Hence the need to deal only with designers you trust because not only is the colour of these two gemstones – Aquamarine and Light Blue Topaz – identical but their physical properties are also similar.

Aquamarine’s family

The Aquamarine belongs to the Beryl family and is therefore related to the Emerald, also of the Beryl family. The Aquamarine, though, unlike its more famous cousin, the emerald, is almost entirely free of inclusions with a more even colour than that of the emerald. It also has a good hardness of 7.5-8 on the Mohs Scale making it tough as though protecting it to a large extent from scratches and nicks and, unlike the emerald, a fabulous shine making it almost as popular as the emerald or any of the other classic and precious gems: ruby, sapphire, and diamond (the ‘big four’ of the gem world: emerald, sapphire, ruby, and diamond).

Aquamarine’s colour

The Aquamarine’s colour range is all shades of light blue, from the palest or almost indiscernible blue colour to the darkest or deepest sea blue, like that of the Blue Zircon. Its colour comes from iron and the more intense the colour the more valuable the stone, for it is that clear blue that epitomizes the Aquamarine’s transparency and spectacular shine.

Aquamarine History, Myths & Truth

The Aquamarine is an ancient gem that, according to legend, was a lucky stone for sailors. This is not at all surprising considering the myth of its origin, namely, that it came from the treasure chests of mermaids. Also in the myth category was the belief that the Aquamarine’s strengths – those of arousing good feelings promoting mutual trust and harmony in relationships – would be further developed if the gem were placed in water that was bathed in sunlight.

But surely better to just wear it since, again according to legend, the Aquamarine is believed to bring joy and wealth to the woman who wears it. In other words, the Aquamarine is the ideal gem both for single and married women because it also promises a happy marriage.

A truth though is that the Aquamarine is a natural and abundant stone that has been found in many countries of the world including Brazil, Nigeria, Zambia, Mozambique, Pakistan and Afghanistan thus no need for synthetic or lab-created Aquamarines so you are at least safe there buying what you think or are told is the real thing when it’s actually a fake. But, to be safe, rather than sorry, in the knowledge that you’re buying a genuine Aquamarine and not a light Blue Topaz, only deal with a trustworthy designer such as Joe at LL Private Jewellers.

Please for more information about the aquamarine contact LL Private Jewellers at 604-684-6343.