March Birthstone: Aquamarine and Bloodstone

By Lisa Chen, Founder · July 16, 2026

Short answer: March has two birthstones — aquamarine, the blue variety of beryl, and bloodstone, a dark green chalcedony flecked with red. Almost every March guide covers the first and treats the second as a footnote. That is backwards: bloodstone held the month first, and aquamarine is the newcomer that displaced it.

The stone March forgot

Start with the thing nobody mentions. The birthstone guide published by Jewelers of America — the trade association that calls itself the originator of the U.S. list, which it dates to 1912 — gives June three stones and August two. For March it lists one: aquamarine. The word bloodstone does not appear on the page.

That is remarkable, because bloodstone got there first. The historical birthstone tables, drawing on the gemologist George Frederick Kunz, show March across the fifteenth to twentieth centuries as bloodstone and jasper — no aquamarine at all. When the U.S. list was standardized in 1912, March became bloodstone and aquamarine. The modern list carries the same two stones in the other order: over roughly a century the newcomer moved to the front, and the original slid to second, then off some lists entirely. I cannot tell you the industry's official reason, and I have not found a source that states one. But GIA confirms both as March's birthstones. You get a choice; most people never learn they had one.

What aquamarine is, and why it is not emerald

Aquamarine is not its own mineral. GIA defines it as the green-blue to blue variety of beryl, and adds the line that makes the family click into place: emerald is the green to bluish green variety of that same mineral. The USGS lists them under one heading — beryl, a beryllium aluminum silicate, hardness 7.5–8 Mohs. Same crystal, different trace elements, identical hardness.

They behave nothing alike. If you have read our guide to emerald, you know its hardness number is a trap: GIA rates emerald only fair to good for toughness and says almost all emeralds have significant fractures. Aquamarine is the clean one: GIA's quality guide says most faceted aquamarines are eye-clean, with clarity characteristics few or absent in finished gems. That decides everything downstream: a stone without fractures does not need filling — no filler to sweat out, no re-oiling, no ban on warm dishwater. GIA's verdict is one sentence: at a hardness of 7.5 to 8, this March birthstone is durable enough for everyday wear.

Stone	Mohs hardness	Typical clarity	What that means day to day
Bloodstone (chalcedony)	6.5–7 (GIA)	Semi-translucent to opaque	The softest here; GIA says store it in soft fabric so it is not scratched
Aquamarine (beryl)	7.5–8 (USGS)	Most faceted stones eye-clean (GIA)	GIA: durable enough for everyday wear
Emerald (beryl)	7.5–8 (USGS)	Almost all significantly fractured (GIA)	Same hardness as aquamarine, yet needs its own care regime

Read the middle row against the bottom: two beryls, one hardness range, not the same purchase. That is the case against shopping by Mohs number alone.

The blue you are buying was probably made

Here is the part the pretty guides skip. GIA states it directly: most of the aquamarine in the market was heat-treated to give it more of a pure blue, though some buyers prefer the greenish natural color. GIA's treatment guide describes the process — untreated, much aquamarine is blue-green, and heating in a controlled environment removes the greenish component. Three things follow.

• It is stable. GIA says heat treatments in all the gems it lists, aquamarine included, are durable and permanent under normal handling. This is not oiling; the blue will not leave.
• It has one footnote. GIA's care note for heated stones: intense heat may render a gem slightly more brittle than usual, so take care not to damage pointed faceted corners.
• It still has to be disclosed. GIA says treatment disclosure is legally required of anyone selling a gem, at every level of trade. The U.S. rule is 16 CFR 23.24: failing to disclose is unfair or deceptive when a treatment is impermanent, creates special care requirements, or significantly affects value.

My honest read: a treated stone is fine. A seller who cannot answer “was this heated?” is the problem.

If you came here for an everyday piece rather than the stone itself, our necklaces and rings are a reasonable place to start.

Bloodstone, and who it is actually for

Now the forgotten one. GIA describes bloodstone, or heliotrope, as a variety of chalcedony — cryptocrystalline quartz — traditionally semi-translucent to opaque dark green jasper with red inclusions of iron oxides, especially hematite. The USGS files it among the cryptocrystalline varieties of silica, alongside agate and carnelian. The red flecks are iron oxide — a mineral fact, not a metaphor.

Both names are stories. GIA says heliotrope comes from the ancient Greek meaning “to turn the sun,” and that the name bloodstone derives from a belief held by some that the color pattern represents the blood of Christ. GIA also records the metaphysical properties attributed to it over the centuries — increasing strength, giving invisibility, preserving health and youth. I report those as history, because that is all they are: none of it is a property of iron oxide in silica, and it will not do anything to your health.

And how it looks is the whole reason it lost. GIA is candid, writing that bloodstone does not share the same beauty as the aquamarine March birthstone, and noting that bloodstones used as gems are typically cut as cabochons, though some striking examples are faceted. An opaque stone cannot be faceted into brilliance, because no light comes back through it, and a century organized around transparent sparkle was never going to be bloodstone's. Which is why it deserves a second look: cabochons and signets are having a moment, and a dark green stone with red flecks reads as considered rather than flashy. GIA notes most bloodstone on the market today comes from India.

Dye, and what the label has to say

Chalcedony has a complication aquamarine does not. GIA lists chalcedony among the materials most commonly dyed, a practice used since ancient times, and notes it may also be bleached. Dye is a different animal from heat: GIA says its durability depends on the stability of the dye itself, that many dyes can be removed by a solvent such as alcohol or acetone, and that some fade under ultraviolet light. That impermanence is what puts dye inside the disclosure rule above.

The naming rules cover this month by name. 16 CFR 23.25 makes it unfair or deceptive to use the unqualified name of a precious or semi-precious stone for a product that is not in fact a mined stone of that type — and it names “birthstone” specifically. Anything laboratory-grown, synthetic, imitation or simulated must carry a qualifier immediately before the name, with equal conspicuousness; “faux” is not adequate. The distinction is simple: laboratory-grown beryl is beryl, while a simulant is a different material wearing the color — GIA defines one as a material, such as cubic zirconia, that substitutes for another gem but has very different chemical composition. Labeled honestly, none of that is a scam. Labeled “aquamarine,” it is.

Care, for both

• Aquamarine. GIA's method is warm water, mild dish soap and a toothbrush, scrubbing behind the stone where dirt collects. GIA says ultrasonic and steam are usually safe as long as there are no fractures or liquid inclusions — and since some aquamarine crystals do carry them, that condition is the whole sentence.
• Bloodstone. GIA says warm soapy water and a soft brush, away from harsh chemicals and extremely hot temperatures, dried with a clean soft cloth. Store it in soft fabric so it is not scratched at 6.5 to 7.
• If it might be dyed. GIA advises avoiding acetone and alcohol, which dissolve dye, and prolonged sunlight, which fades it. And store both apart: corundum at 9 and diamond at 10 will scratch either one in a shared pouch.

Frequently asked questions

What are the two March birthstones?

Aquamarine and bloodstone. GIA lists both. Aquamarine is the blue variety of beryl and gets nearly all the attention; bloodstone, also called heliotrope, is a dark green chalcedony with red iron-oxide inclusions, and is the older of the two on historical March lists.

Is aquamarine durable enough to wear every day?

GIA says yes: at 7.5 to 8 on the Mohs scale, it calls aquamarine durable enough for everyday wear, and the USGS gives the same range for beryl. Unlike emerald, which shares that hardness, most faceted aquamarines are eye-clean.

Is aquamarine heat-treated?

Usually. GIA states that most of the aquamarine in the market was heat-treated to give it more of a pure blue, because untreated material is typically a lighter greenish blue. GIA considers heat treatment durable and permanent under normal handling. U.S. rules still require disclosure of treatments that are impermanent, create special care needs, or significantly affect value.

What is bloodstone made of?

Per GIA, bloodstone is a variety of chalcedony — cryptocrystalline quartz — traditionally semi-translucent to opaque dark green jasper with red inclusions of iron oxides, especially hematite. The USGS lists it, or heliotrope, among the cryptocrystalline varieties of silica.

How do I clean aquamarine and bloodstone?

Both take warm soapy water and a soft brush, per GIA. For aquamarine, ultrasonic and steam are usually safe only if the stone has no fractures or liquid inclusions. For bloodstone, GIA says to avoid harsh chemicals and extreme heat, and to store it in soft fabric.

March is the one month where the choice is real and nobody knows it: a clean blue beryl that takes daily wear, or the opaque green stone that held the month first. For more, see our guides to May's emerald and the Pisces birthstone.

If you want to wear March’s stone rather than read about it, our Personalized Cross & Birthstone Necklace is made in a March version — 18k gold plating over a 316L stainless steel base, built for daily wear. The stones are cubic zirconia, not mined gems, and the product page says so.