Well another month has come and gone. I don’t know why just losing one day can make a month seem so short. Any theories? I guess it’s just one of those universal truths, but the good news is that it’s March, the month of St. Paddy’s Day, March Madness, and the traditional March blizzard in GA (maybe). So I’d like to start this post by wishing all of you with March birthdays, a very Happy Birthday! And also, to tell you a little bit about your birthstone, the lovely Aquamarine.
The name aquamarine comes from the latin word for seawater. This must have been a real intellectual and creative stretch for those latin “thing-namers” since aqua looks well, like seawater. And like the sea aquas can range in color from greener hues like that of the gulf of Mexico, to tropical blues like the waters in the Caribbean. Found all over the world, the largest ever to be unearthed was a crystal weighing 243 pounds Brazil. That one stone yielded over 200,000 carats of polished stones.
Like most ancient gems, aquamarine has its fair share of myths and legends to its name. Ancient Romans believed that a frog, carved in aqua had the power to reconcile enemies and make them friends. I can actually imagine this being quite effective because no matter how mad I am, if someone held up a blue rock carved in the shape of a rock and yelling “FRIENDS” I would not only not be able to be mad at them anymore, I would be unable to stop laughing as well. And an added benefit was that if the whole friends thing didn’t work out, aquas were supposed to make soldiers invincible so you were good either way. Another myth that seems to have run rampant throughout history was that aqua could be used as an effective antidote for poison. It was thought to be so powerful that merely wearing it around your neck would protect you. This seems to be the case with every gemstone I’ve come across, so I think I’ll save some money and hang some of the gravel from my fish tank around my neck instead. Hey, it’s colorful which means it must be magical right?
Aquas were also supposed to have mystical divining properties as well and were seen as the most effective of the “oracle” crystals. It could be cut into crystal balls for fortune telling or used as a divining tool . My personal favorite example of which is hanging a stone by a thread over water in a bowl engraved with the alphabet. You merely asked a question and the stone would swing around, hitting the letters to spell out your answer. Exactly, like a medieval Ouija board! I can see the medieval courtiers now. “Who is going to be the King?” The stone starts to move. “ E..L..V..I..S”. “Yes, Elvis! Wait a minute, I don’t know any members of the court with the name Elvis. This thing must be broken. Oh well, I guess I won’t win the inter-courtier pool after all.” “Well that’s for sure, since you bet on Elizabeth I and she’s a girl!”
Ok, so I went off on a little tangent there, but wasn’t it fun? Ok, back on track. We all love aquas here at Union Diamond. They have so much personality, and that color makes me feel like I’m at the beach which is always a nice thing. I especially like aquas when they’re set in rings like the one above. Attention to detail was the name of the game when it was created because every inch of it is gorgeous. Even the underside has a beautiful pierced design to allow more light to enter the stone. And the delicate milgraining finishes off the piece with a little vintage glamour. This piece is a real showstopper and I will be sad to put it back in the case when I’m done writing this post. So what are you waiting for? Bring a little bit of the sea home with you today with gorgeous Aquamarine jewelry from Union Diamond!
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