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Aquamarine - the symbol of hope and optimism

​​​​​​​Aquamarine is most often light in tone, ranging from palish blue to blue-green; the color usually is more intense in larger stones, and darker blue stones are very valuable. The green in aquamarine is a watery green without any trace of yellow and is due to iron, not chromium.

Here, you can find aquamarine

This gemstone is primarily mined in Brazil but is also found in Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Colorado, Pakistan, and Mozambiqu. The previously known deposit at the Ural Mountains in Russia seems to be exhausted. They started mining aquamarine in 1811 in Brazil and some of the largest aquamarines have been found in Brazil. Aquamarine grows in large, six-sided crystals that can be up to a foot long.

Familar to emeralds, aquamarine is a variety of the mineral called bery. Beryllium is the fourth element of the periodic table with the chemical symbol Be. The element was first identified in 1798, as a component of beryl by the French chemist and pharmacy.

Aquamarine has the hardness 7½-8 on Mohs' scale.

Famous aquamarines

The largest aquamarine was discovered in Brazil in 1910, weighing over 120 kg. It was subsequently cut into smaller stones, collectively totaling over 200,000 carats. A substantial collection of aquamarines is on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. In addition, at the British Museum of Natural History in London, there is a captivating lake-green aquamarine weighing 879.5 carats.