March Birthstone

The March birthstone color is pale blue — aquamarine's light, watery seawater blue is what every chart and birthstone-jewelry line uses for the month. Deeper, more saturated blues exist (and cost more), but the signature March shade is the airy pastel one.

Bloodstone gives March an unofficial second palette — deep forest green flecked with red — for anyone who wants the traditional stone. There's no wrong answer: blue is the modern chart color, green-and-red the ancient one.

Bloodstone's tenure came first and lasted longest: to the Babylonians and Romans it was a stone of warriors; medieval Europe called it the martyr's stone, carving crucifixion scenes in which its red spots became drops of blood, and lore held it could staunch bleeding — soldiers carried it into battle for exactly that reason. On the old traditional lists, March belonged to bloodstone.

Aquamarine's name is Latin — aqua marina, seawater — and Roman sailors carried it as protection on voyages, believing it calmed waves. But its promotion to March's headline stone is modern: the 1912 US list chose it as the month's transparent, jewelry-friendly gem, and later revisions kept bloodstone alongside as the traditional alternative. The two now share the month roughly along style lines: aquamarine for classic jewelry, bloodstone for signets, carvings and anyone drawn to the older story.

Aquamarine: color drives price — deeper blue costs more, and the palest stones are very affordable in large sizes. Expect eye-clean clarity as the norm (visible inclusions should mean a discount), and know that most commercial aquamarine is gently heated to remove green tinge — stable and standard. Beware 'aqua-colored' imitations: blue topaz and synthetic spinel mimic it closely at half the price. Bloodstone: judge the pattern — well-defined red spots on dark green beat vague brownish smears — and check that the red is natural iron oxide, not dye pooling in surface cracks. It is inexpensive, so heavy price tags need justifying.