Aquamarine, a blue-green precious gemstone, is mined in many places around the world.
Aquamarine, known as "the gem of the sea" for its blue-green coloring, is found in many areas of the world, including Madagascar, Brazil, Africa, and the Middle East. Miners break up the surrounding rock with simple tools to separate the gemstone from the surrounding granite.
Fundamentals
Aquamarine, a precious gemstone, is found in veins of metamorphic granite rock called pegmatite. The rock veins, which can be several feet thick, are fractured using open-mining tools such as jack hammers, compressors, picks, or chisels. Workers clean the recovered aquamarine with water and sort the rock for color, size, and crystal shape.
Geology
Precambrian metamorphic rock is made up of quartz, feldspar, mica, garnet, and other minerals, with many gemstones held within it. Aquamarine is made from the mineral beryl, one of the most abundant on Earth. Unlike mining gold, copper, and other minerals, the process to extract aquamarine uses no toxic chemicals and poses no environmental threats. The raw aquamarine gemstone is cleaned simply with water.
Processing
Raw aquamarine is washed, cleaned, and cut into slabs that then are cut into gem shapes.
Cutters slice rough chunks of raw aquamarine into thin slabs, which are then formed into general gem shapes. If the gemstone is pale, it may be heated to develop more of the desired blue-green colors associated with aquamarine. The stones are then cut into specific gem shapes and sorted by size, shape, and color for jewelers.
Color
Aquamarine gets its color from tiny amounts of iron. Stones with the most intense color are more desired and more expensive than lighter stones. Aquamarine's "gem of the sea" nickname comes from its sea-like color. In Latin "aqua" means water and "mare" means sea.
Sources
Madagascar provides most of the aquamarine with dark blue coloring. Brazil, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the United States also produce aquamarine.
Jewelry
Aquamarine is most often cut in the emerald style or as ovals or pear-shaped gems. Its hardness makes it a durable stone for jewelry. Large stones, weighing up to ten carats, are fairly common. Washing with warm water swirled with a mild liquid soap is considered the best way to clean aquamarine. A toothbrush can be used to loosen dirt and debris. Avoid very hot water that can change the color of the stone.
Folklore
Legends about aquamarine abound. Ancient mariners took gemstones with them to act as amulets or good luck charms on long voyages, believing they came from the treasure chests of mermaids and were charmed. In astrology, aquamarine is assigned to the planet Neptune. Healers and shamans believed wearing aquamarine improves arthritis, varicose veins, sore throats, and eye problems. Aquamarine is the birthstone for the month of March and the state mineral of Colorado.
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