Archive:Aquamarine

Aquamarine

Aquamarine (Lat. aqua marina, "water of the sea") is a gemstone-quality transparent variety of beryl, having a delicate blue or blue-green color, suggestive of the tint of sea-water. It's closely related to the gem emerald. As aquamarine is a beryl with a hexagonal crystal structure and a chemical formula of Be₃Al₂Si₆O₁₈, a Beryllium aluminum silicate. It has a density of 2.68 to 2.74. It is 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs hardness scale.

It occurs at most localities which yield ordinary beryl, some of the finest coming from Russia. The gem-gravels of Sri Lanka contain aquamarine. Clear yellow beryl, such as occurs in Brazil, is sometimes called aquamarine chrysolite. When corundum presents the bluish tint of typical aquamarine, it is often termed Oriental aquamarine.

In the United States, aquamarines can be found at the summit of Mt. Antero in the Sawatch Range in central Colorado. In Brazil, there are mines in the states of Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Bahia. Zambia also produces nice aquamarine as well as Madagascar, Malawi,Tanzania and Kenya. Much of today's aquamarine is heated to give it a better color blue.

The biggest aquamarine ever mined was found at the city of Marambaia, Minas Gerais. It weighed over 110 kg, and its dimensions were 48.5 cm long and 42 cm in diameter.

Culture and historical/mythical usage

Aquamarine is the birthstone associated with March. It is also the gemstone for the 19th Anniversary.

People in the Middle Ages thought that aquamarine could magically overcome the effects of poison.

See also

• List of minerals

References

• Template:1911
• Diamond Bug. "Flawless Aquamarine: March Birthstone". Retrieved March 16, 2006.