Aquamarine is a member of the beryl family. Its chemical makeup is silicate that has aluminium and beryllium inside. The color of aquamarine looks as deep as the ocean. Old people long ago named it water stone. They believe this pretty stone must come from the secret sea. It is the birthstone for March. Aquamarine stands for happiness, brave and wisdom. Sailors take it when they go sailing. They think it can keep them away from danger and bad luck. Aquamarine counts as a precious gem. If you put it under your pillow while sleep, it can make your sleep more quiet and sweet. People often put aquamarine and emerald together, they are the two most valuable beryl gems.
Old stories tell people aquamarine carry nice love and good wishes. Long long ago, there live many mermaids in the dark blue sea. Aquamarine is their jewelry. When trouble come, let the stone touch sunshine, it will get magic power to help mermaids. So people also call aquamarine mermaid stone. There is another old tale too. Beautiful aquamarine grows under the sea, it is the soul of ocean. That is why sailors always bring one with them, they pray for safe trip on water. Aquamarine’s color range from sky blue, sea blue to blue-green.
Many people mix them up, but sapphire and aquamarine are totally different gems. Sapphire’s main chemical element is alumina. It belong to corundum family same as ruby. The word sapphire come from Latin word Spphins, it mean blue. In real nature, all gem-grade corundum stones except ruby are called sapphire, no matter their color. They can be light blue, green, yellow, grey or clear white. Sapphire symbol loyalty and firm mind. Some sapphires have lots of rutile inside, they turn into rare star sapphire. Star sapphire also named stone of fate. The star lines on stone can move when you turn it. Ancient men said star sapphire bring safety and blessing to people who wear it.
Sapphire is top-level gemstone. It is one of five famous precious stones, take the third place, only behind diamond and
ruby. People see sapphire as lucky sign. Long time ago in ancient Egypt, Greek and Rome, people use sapphire to decorate mosque, church and abbey. It was very popular noble ornament back then.
Now we can tell the big difference between these two stones clearly. Aquamarine is March birthstone, its mineral type is beryllium aluminium silicate. Sapphire is September birthstone and part of corundum group. The brand Blue Nile sell jewelry made of sapphire and aquamarine. Their goods have good quality, you can go there pick some pieces you like.
Differences between Aquamarine and Sapphire
Many people often mix up aquamarine and sapphire, but they are completely different gemstones in many ways. Firstly, they belong to different mineral families. Aquamarine is a beryl gemstone with aluminum and beryllium silicate as its main chemical composition. It is the birthstone of March, symbolizing courage, happiness and wisdom. It only has blue and blue-green tones, and it is also known as the mermaid stone with beautiful ocean legends.
By contrast, sapphire is a corundum gem made of alumina, and it is the
birthstone of September. It stands for loyalty and firmness. Unlike aquamarine, sapphire has rich colors including blue, yellow, gray and colorless. It ranks third among the world’s top five precious gems, much more valuable. In short, they differ in mineral type, color range, symbolic meanings and market value.