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March
Birthstone: Aquamarine, Bloodstone, Jasper
Aquamarine
is the birthstone for March.
This stone's
name derived from the Latin aquamarina, meaning "sea
water." In the middle agesÊAquamarine was thought to provide
insight as well as helping one to predict the future. It was
believed that when an aquamarine was placed in the mouth it
would allow one to call forth spirits to answer questions
about life. When consecrated, this stone was believed to help
the wearer overcome wickedness. Water that an aquamarine has
soaked in was used to cure eye ailments, respiratory diseased
and the hiccups. Powerful stuff!
Aquamarine
is typically greenish blue to blue, and is of the mineral
species beryl (which also includes green emerald and a pink
variety named morganite). It is usually light in color, but
it is often heated to reduce the greenish cast and make the
blue shade more pronounced.
As an
importer of jewelry from India, aquamarine is hard to come
by. Over the years I have tried unsuccessfully to get good
quality aquamarine. Most of the time the suppliers either
cannot provide it or send blue topaz in its place!
Luckily,
this month's alternate birthstone is jasper. You can find
lots of jasper in our pendants
by the gram and our rings
by the gram (both of which are still just 54¢ per
gram despite rising silver prices). When ordering, just put
a note in the customer comments box at the end of the ordering
process for your special request for jasper or any other stone
for that matter.
(This
article written by Mike McGinnis and published originally
on indiasilver.com.
We encourage republication but stipulate the piece be copied
in its entirety with links and attribution.)
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