March Birthstone – Bloodstone/Aquamarine
Who in this world of ours their eyes
In March first open shall be wise,
In days of peril firm and brave,
And wear a bloodstone to their grave.
The very definition of a birthstone is a gemstone incorporated into a piece of jewellery. Elegantly simple. The history behind them has become diluted over the years but some correlation between 12 months, 12 zodiac signs and 12 stones dates all the way back to the first century.
As time passes customs change and old ways are easily forgotten, tradition changed from wearing a different stone every month to wearing just the birthstone that matched your month of birth. This is where we are today since it began in 16th century Germany (or 18th century Poland is another theory).
The Gregorian calendar gave us a poem for each birthstone which you can see above and March’s month is bloodstone. An unusual gemstone of chalcedony infused with red jasper which creates the spots of blood which leant it its name.
However while we have some bloodstone it isn’t, shall we say, the most sought after piece of jewellery in the world today – as interesting as it is it doesn’t have that core beauty that most people look for and this is where aquamarine rushes in to save the day! Aquamarine, meaning Water of the Sea is a stunning variety of beryl, the kicker for its sky blue colour is the higher inclusion of iron.
We have a beautiful selection of aquamarine jewellery to suit all different tastes and budgets and some stunning aquamarine gemstones (and some bloodstone!) should you wish to create your own special one off piece. The featured piece is a stunning set of aquamarine pendant and earrings in 18ct white gold with diamonds – please contact us for more details or pop in to see the whole range. If you have a birthday coming up in March you could aspire to a wonderful Catherine Best piece which lasts forever.
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Catherine Best creates once-in-a-lifetime piece for Born Free Foundation
