Aquamarine is the Birthstone for March

Our Birthstone for the month of March is the beautiful Aquamarine. It is considered to be a semi precious gemstone. The name Aquamarine comes from the Latin expression for seawater and this stone is a member of the Beryl family of stones. The Aquamarine stone is loved by gemstone and jewelry collectors for its clear blue or blue-green color. The more saturated the color of this stone the more desirable it is which means the most intense colored stones are more valuable.

The leading producer of this stone is Brazil but you can find deposits and mines in countries such as Australia, Burma, China, India, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe and here in the United States. On the Mohs scale the Aquamarine comes in at a 7.5 to an 8 on the hardness scale so ti's a pretty hearty stone.

Traditionally you will find the Aquamarine set in earrings, rings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, pins, brooches and even in men's cufflinks and tie pins. Because of the light beautiful color, most will be set in sterling, platinum or white gold and it looks just fabulous in all of those metals.

Caring for your Aquamarine is rather easy since it is such a hard stone. Simply wiping it off with a damp cloth is the easiest. Never use harsh chemical jewelry cleaners to clean your jewelry and always store your jewelry in an appropriate protective jewelry box. Also, you never want to wear your Aquamarine jewelry while swimming, bathing, showering, washing your hands or when cleaning because water and harsh chemicals can damage the stones and the metal in which they are set.

If you are a March baby, treat yourself to some amazing Aquamarine pieces so you can show off your wonderful birthstone as well as enhance your wardrobe with the awesome color of the stone.

by Gregg Nosaji, Contributing Editor for ChasingTreasure.com, online retailer of jewelry boxes, jewelry armoires and jewelry related gifts. Gregg is an event consultant and writes about gift ideas and special occasions