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March Birthstones

For the lucky individuals born in March, two birthstones are associated with this early spring month: aquamarine and bloodstone.

Both stones are very different from one another in appearance, but each share a similar symbolism of preserving or enhancing the health of the wearer.

Aquamarine

The serenely colored aquamarine invokes the tranquility of its namesake, the sea. In fact, the name aquamarine is derived from the Latin word aqua, meaning water, and marina, meaning the sea.

Aquamarine is most often light in tone and ranges from greenish blue to blue-green; the color usually is more intense in larger stones, and darker blue stones are very valuable. This gemstone is mined mainly in Brazil, but also is found in Nigeria, Madagascar, Zambia, Pakistan, and Mozambique.

Like emeralds, this gemstone is actually a variety of a mineral called beryl. Large stones have been found all over the world, including one stone found in Brazil that weighed over 240 pounds. Aquamarine grows in large, six-sided crystals that can be up to a foot long, making it a great gem to be cut and polished in larger carats for statement pieces.

Not only is aquamarine one of the March birthstones, it’s also used to celebrate 19th wedding anniversaries. It’s a beautiful stone with little or no yellow in it, so it looks great in many settings with different colored metals and gemstones.

Bloodstone

The second birthstone for March is bloodstone, a dark-green stone flecked with vivid red spots of iron oxide. Generally found embedded in rocks or in riverbeds as pebbles, primary sources for this stone are India, Brazil, and Australia.

Bloodstone is also called heliotrope, a word from the ancient Greek that means “to turn the sun.” Many believe it was probably named such because of ancient ideas about how minerals reflect light. In fact, some believed that the sun itself would turn red if this stone was put into water.

Bloodstone is sometimes also known as another name, Blood Jasper. But really these stones are chalcedony, a crypto crystalline quartz. There are two forms of bloodstone: one is more transparent (heliotrope) with red spots while the other is more opaque (plasma) and has little or no red spots.

For those looking for a good quality bloodstone, it is generally considered that a solid green color with visible veins of red is best. It also comes in many shapes and cuts including traditional cuts like emerald, oval, and cushion.

Bloodstone may not have the overt beauty of aquamarine, but many prize this stone for its symbolism and other properties.