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How Is Aquamarine Created?

Once believed to protect sailors from storms and sea creatures, aquamarine is March's birthstone and is a valuable stone. Aquamarine has very few flaws, and is mined all over the world. Traditionally used in jewelry, aquamarine is found in the United States, Asia, Brazil and Africa. Aquamarine can be found where quartz, feldspar, muscovite and quartz are also found.

Chemical Composition
- Aquamarine's chemical symbol is Be3Al2Si6O18. Aquamarine is made up of beryllium, aluminum, silicon and oxygen. Traces of iron ions, both Fe2+ and Fe3+, are present in aquamarine, and this is where the stone gets its blue and green color. Aquamarine is called a beryllium aluminum silicate mineral because of its chemical composition. Beryllium is a very rare element, according to GemstoneEducation.com, and because of its rarity, aquamarine is a very valuable stone.
Cooling
- Millions of years ago, at the creation of the Earth, magma flowed freely under the crust, according to PaleoLands.org. As the Earth's crust cooled from 1,112 degrees Fahrenheit, crystals formed in the ground, according to GreatMining.com. These crystals became aquamarine, diamonds, garnets, and many other valuable stones. The type of stone that was created depended on the elements available in the stone, the dirt and the magma.
Location
- Aquamarine is found in granite. As the Earth cooled, the granite cracked and created cavities. The magma flowed into these cracks and crevices and created aquamarine. Because of how it was created, large crevices created large pieces of aquamarine, and stones weighing over 200 pounds have been found in granite.
Crystal
- Aquamarine has a hexagonal crystal structure, according to MineralMiners.com. This means six atoms are closely connected in a plane, but these planes can be stacked on top of one another. Aquamarines are prismatic crystals with vertical grooves, and can be flattened or elongated. They are of the class cyclosilicates, which occur when there are four oxygen atoms to one silicon atom, and one oxygen atom is attached to a silicon, but the other oxygen atoms are not. This creates a hard, tabular form, according to Minerals.net.
Heat
- When aquamarine is heated above 750 degrees Fahrenheit, the blue color becomes deeper and richer. Heating aquamarine to this temperature eliminates the iron that gives the stones a green or yellow tint. The Fe3+ is the green color hue, and this is reduced to an Fe2+, which gives the blue color.

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