Beryl

AQUAMARINE
The birthstone for March, legends say that it is the treasure of mermaids, with the power to keep sailors safe at sea. Aquamarine protects against the wiles of the devil. A dream of aquamarine means that you will meet new friends. Aquamarine blue is a divine and eternal color, since it is, after all, the color of the skies. Aquamarine blue, however, is also the color of water with its life-giving properties. And in fact aquamarine seems to have managed to embody the light blue of the seas. This is not surprising, for according to legend it has its origin in the treasure chest of the legendary mermaids, and has for ages been reputed to be a lucky stone for sailors. Its name has been derived from the Latin terms "aqua” meaning water, and "mare” or sea. Allegedly its powers develop best if the stone is immersed in sun-drenched water. However, it seems a wiser course to carry it, because according to ancient traditions, carrying an aquamarine is supposed to guarantee a happy marriage and to make its owner happy and rich at that the ideal gemstone, not only for lovers and married couples. AQUAMARINE, is the birthstone for March, legends say that it is the treasure of mermaids, with the power to keep sailors safe at sea. Aquamarine protects against the wiles of the devil. A dream of aquamarine means that you will meet new friends. Aquamarine blue is a divine and eternal color, since it is, after all, the color of the skies. Aquamarine blue, however, is also the color of water with its life-giving properties. And in fact aquamarine seems to have managed to embody the light blue of the seas. This is not surprising, for according to legend it has its origin in the treasure chest of the legendary mermaids, and has for ages been reputed to be a lucky stone for sailors. Its name has been derived from the Latin terms "aqua” meaning water, and "mare” or sea. Allegedly its powers develop best if the stone is immersed in sun-drenched water. However, it seems a wiser course to carry it, because according to ancient traditions, carrying an aquamarine is supposed to guarantee a happy marriage and to make its owner happy and rich at that the ideal gemstone, not only for lovers and married couples. Aquamarine is tough enough to used as a center stone in any piece of jewelry. Aquamarine is a stone for daytime fun or an evening out.

Emerald
Emeralds are fascinating gemstones. They have the most beautiful, most intense and most radiant green that can possibly be imagined: emerald green. Inclusions are tolerated. In top quality, fine emeralds are even more valuable than diamonds.
The name emerald comes from the Greek smaragdos via the Old French esmeralde, and really just means 'green gemstone'. Innumerable fantastic stories have grown up around this magnificent gem. The Incas and Aztecs of South America, where the best emeralds are still found today, regarded the emerald as a holy gemstone. However, probably the oldest known finds were once made near the Red Sea in Egypt. Having said that, these gemstone mines, already exploited by Egyptian pharaohs between 3000 and 1500 B.C. and later referred to as 'Cleopatra's Mines', had already been exhausted by the time they were rediscovered in the early 19th century.
The green of the emerald is the colour of life and of the springtime, which comes round again and again. But it has also, for centuries, been the colour of beauty and of constant love. In ancient Rome, green was the colour of Venus, the goddess of beauty and love. And today, this colour still occupies a special position in many cultures and religions. Green, for example, is the holy colour of Islam. Many of the states of the Arab League have green in their flags as a symbol of the unity of their faith. Yet this colour has a high status in the Catholic Church too, where green is regarded as the most natural and the most elemental of the liturgical colours.
The magnificent green of the emerald is a colour which conveys harmony, love of Nature and elemental joie de vivre. The human eye can never see enough of this unique colour. Pliny commented that green gladdened the eye without tiring it. Green is perceived as fresh and vivid, never as monotonous. And in view of the fact that this colour always changes somewhat between the bright light of day and the artificial light of a lamp, emerald green retains its lively vigour in all its nuances.

The most popular of the other beryls is probably Morganite, which is pastel pink to peach or lavender. It was first discovered in California in the Pala pegmatites in 1905, and later in Madagascar. There are also deposits in Russia, Brazil, Mozambique, Namibia and Afghanistan.

Morganite is relatively rare, which stands in the way of it becoming a jewelry stone. The largest faceted morganite is a cushion-shape, about 600.00-carat from Madagascar in the collection of the British Museum.

Heliodor, or golden beryl, is named after the greek words for sun "helios" and gift "doron". The sunny yellow color of this beryl lives up to its name. Heliodor was discovered in Namibia in 1910 in a pegmatite that also produced aquamarine, which is also colored by iron. Heliodore is also found in Brazil and Madagascar.

Red beryl is the rarest member of the beryl family. It is mined in only one place: the Wah Wah Mountains in Utah. The color is stoplight red. This deposit produces very small quantities of this gem, and most of the gems produced are under a carat in size, and many have inclusions. Clean specimens over a carat are very rare and are very expensive.

Colorless beryl, or Goshenite, is also relatively rare. It is named after a deposit where it was found in Goshen, Massachusetts. Because of their brilliance and durability, all the gemstones in the beryl family are perfect for jewelry use.