The name and folk history of Aquamarine is forever tied to water. Two Latine words “aqua” which means water, and “mare” for sea bore the modern name “aquamarine.” During the times of antiquity, it was believed that aquamarine crystals came from the jewel caskets of mermaids that were washed from the sea. The sea theme is again apparent in the fact that aquamarine was called the sailors’ gem. Sailors from pre-Christian times commonly carried aquamarine during their seafaring journeys to 
fend off sea monsters by appeasing Neptune and Poseidon – the two Sea Gods of the time.
Talking about aquamarine’s color, we cannot get away from the topic of water. Aquamarine has a beautiful range of color, from deep sky blue to the blue with the faint green undertones. In both cases, the color of aquamarine often resembles the color of seawater.
Aquamarine mining centers are not quite as spread around the world as they are with some other precious gems. Brazilian mines produce by far the largest amount and the most beautiful aquamarines in the world. Some other producing locations are Central and South Africa and Russia. The most prized aquamarine crystals come from Santa Maria de Itabira mine in Brazil. This mine produces fairly large gems in deep blue color so admired by many aquamarine lovers around the world.
As with many other precious gems, aquamarine was believed to possess many healing powers. For instance, aquamarine was commonly used against the ailments of the stomach, liver, jaws, and throat. It was also believed to be an excellent remedy against many poisons.
Aquamarine is very popular among modern jewelry designers. Despite the fact that it is a quite hard gem, aquamarine is fairly easy to cut into a variety of shapes. Even the most bizarre cuts are fairly easily produced with this gemstone. Oftentimes, because of the lucid color that aquamarine crystals have, jewelry designers incorporate the gemstone’s inclusions into their final designs, thus creating the most advanced artistic cuts that are only possible with this gemstone.
