Aquamarine is the birthstone for the month of March. The name aquamarine comes from the Latin word aqua marina meaning water or the sea,
in reference to its color. Aquamarine is from the beryl family and is the pale green to blue type of the mineral. Aquamarine gets its color from trace
amounts of iron impurities in the beryl structure.

To eliminate the yellow-green color sometimes seen in this gem, it is heated to become pure blue.
Aquamarine that has a pure blue color is very desired, and can get fairly pricey. Almost all aquamarine has a light color tone, making the darker of
these the most sought after.

Beryl is found most often in silica rich granites and granite pegmatites in association with quartz, feldspars and muscovite. In these pegmatites beryl
can be the varieties of aquamarine, heliodor and morganite. Beryl can also be found in mica schists of metamorphic-hydrothermal deposits, where the
schists form by chemical interaction between the pegmatites and surrounding basic rocks.

Origin

Most aquamarine is found in Brazil, other deposits found in; Australia, Myanmar (Burma), China, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, and the United States.

Properties, Treatments & Lab Created

Aquamarine is rated a 7.5-8 on the Mohs scale, making it a great option for jewelry of all types.

Heat treatment is used to make the gem pure blue and get rid of the yellow-green hue that many aquamarines have naturally.

There is a lab created aquamarine, but it is fairly expensive compared to many lab versions of natural gems. Another popular option available, is lab created spinel in a pale blue that resembles aquamarine.

Other simulants are available such as blue cubic zirconia, and glass materials.