March Birthstone: Aquamarine

What is the March birthstone?

The March birthstone is aquamarine, a pale sea-blue stone whose name literally means sea water. There is also an older traditional March stone, bloodstone, which many lists still keep alongside it (American Gem Society). For most modern buyers, aquamarine is the one they picture: a cool, clear blue that looks like shallow water on a bright day. If you were born in March, aquamarine is almost certainly the stone you will want to build a piece around, but it is worth knowing bloodstone is part of the month's history too.

Colour, hardness and daily wear

Aquamarine sits at 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs hardness scale, the ten-point measure of scratch resistance jewellers rely on (International Gem Society). That is meaningfully harder than garnet, amethyst or quartz, and it puts aquamarine among the more practical coloured stones for a ring you actually wear every day. It resists scratching well and copes with normal life without much fuss, which is one reason I happily recommend it for engagement or dress rings, not just occasional pieces. The colour is where the choices lie. Aquamarine's blue comes from traces of iron, and it runs from a barely-there icy tint to a strong, clear sky-blue. The deeper, purer blues are the most sought after and the most expensive; a lot of natural aquamarine leans slightly green or very pale, which keeps it affordable. You can dig into the specifics on our aquamarine page and compare it with other stones in the gemstone guide.

Meaning and history

Aquamarine has long been associated with the sea and with safe passage across water. Sailors are said to have carried it as a good-luck charm on voyages, which fits a stone the colour of calm ocean. Whether or not you put any stock in that, it is a nice thread to hand on with a gift, and it gives the stone a gentle, hopeful character rather than a flashy one. Aquamarine belongs to the beryl family, which also gives us emerald; the two are chemically close cousins, coloured differently by different trace elements. That family link surprises people, because a serene pale-blue aquamarine and a deep-green emerald feel worlds apart. Bloodstone, March's traditional stone, has an older and more sombre reputation. It is a dark green stone speckled with red, and its history runs through medieval carvings and seals rather than sparkling rings.

The traditional stone: bloodstone

Bloodstone deserves its own note because it is nothing like aquamarine. It is an opaque dark-green stone with red or brownish-red spots, and it is almost always cut flat as a smooth cabochon or carved, rather than faceted to sparkle. It has a long history in signet rings and carved seals. If someone with a March birthday prefers something earthy, masculine or unusual over a bright blue stone, bloodstone is a genuinely interesting choice and a talking point most people have never seen.

Choosing and gifting a March piece

Aquamarine is one of the easier birthstones to buy well, mostly because it is hard enough to trust in any setting. If you want an everyday ring, aquamarine's 7.5 to 8 on Mohs means you do not have to baby it the way you would a softer stone, though a protective setting is still smart for a stone worn daily. For a gift with real presence, a large pale aquamarine makes a lovely cocktail ring or pendant, and because paler stones are cheaper you can go generous on size. The colour flatters cool skin tones especially and looks crisp in white gold or platinum, warmer and softer in yellow gold. We design and set every piece in-house here in Coquitlam, so we can match a specific stone to the right metal and cut, and pair it with diamonds or keep it clean and simple. If the March birthday also lands on a 19th wedding anniversary, aquamarine is the traditional stone for that year, so one piece can mark both (19-year anniversary pieces). That kind of dual-meaning commission is exactly where our bespoke anniversary work tends to begin. To see how aquamarine fits the rest of the year, our birthstones guide runs through every month.

Frequently asked questions