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M135 -
Aquamarine is a Beryllium aluminum silicate, frequently with some sodium, lithium, and cesium. Always six-sided, prism shaped crystals. Hardness 7 on the Mohs scale but is somewhat brittle and sensitive to pressure. It is a variety of Beryl and ranges in color from a pale blue to a medium blue and sometimes with a greenish hue. Aquamarine crystals are commonly found with a reddish-brown Muscavite mica. Aquamarine crystals that are free of inclusions or flaws are prized for making gemstones.
Aquamarine is emerald's most famous sister. It is simply a different color variety of the mineral beryl. Greenish-blue to bluish-green beryl is called aquamarine. The advances of modern technology have made it possible, and very common, for aquamarine to be heat-treated to drive the green out of the stone and leave a more pleasing blue. This is a permanent treatment and has become accepted in the jewelry industry.
Some say that Aquamarine has been credited with providing courage, curing laziness and quickening the intellect. In the Middle Ages it was believed to give the wearer both insight and foresight and freedom from insomnia. Among various peoples, it had the reputation of providing happiness and everlasting youth. Water in which an aquamarine had been soaked was believed to cure eye troubles, stoppage of breath and hiccups.
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Madagascar
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